How Long is Forever?
by Demons Of Doom
Summary: Starfire leaves. Obsolete Cyborg knows his batteries wont hold for much longer. Bald Beast Boy feels strange outside of his cage. Raven isn't sure if what's happening to her is real. And Nightwing stares at them, not quite sure what to do.
1. Reunion

You will find lack of details and gramatical mistakes. I can do much better but considering the amount of reviews get...I won't bother. If you find the concept interesting and review, I will work harder.

* * *

They looked at each other uneasily, bad and good memories playing in their minds. They seemed to be leveling each set of thoughts, maybe trying to decide which was more worthy. Beast Boy finally smiled and patted Cyborg's shoulder briefly.

"Dude…"

"How've you being, little man." The huge man answered with a smile of his own and patted the bald green head. "Being some time."

"Some lots of time." Nightwing added. He did not smile. "I've been working solo since we slipped apart."

"Heh…I kinda tried too…."

Beast Boy blushed, his sad eyes lowered to the ground.

Nightwing ignored the comment and regarded each of them carefully. Beast Boy never looked up to meet his eyes again and Raven's face remained hiding in the darkness of her hood. Only Cyborg held his gaze, and he couldn't help but notice certain defiance on the exchange.

"I don't think Starfire's visit from the past is something we should disregard. I'm not enough to protect the whole city. It needs the Titans."

"We aint kids no more."

"Yeah...how they gonna call us? The Out of Shape Titans?"

It wasn't a joke but the comment made Nightwing smile.

"Perhaps."

* * *

Raven and Beast Boy had not seen the tower in a very long time. It was definitely in ruins. The windows were broken, parts of the wall had crumbled and the smell of rusted iron and humidity was unbearable. Raven refused to enter and Beast Boy offered to stay with her. They waited alone in the snow-covered island in silence.

He soon regreted staying. He felt worse each passing second. It wasn't just the sight of the destroyed tower or the great view of the desolated city. He realized Raven's presence was unsettling. She was just standing there...but he didn't want to be near. He didn't want to talk or even look at her. A primal silent instinct seemed to be urging him to leave. At first, it was ignored…but then Beast Boy finally turned and hurried away from her without a word.

The T-Car roared back to life. Cyborg smiled. It was the only thing that functioned properly in the Tower. It was the one thing he had worked on all those years. To be able to show it off to someone again was gratifying and that choking feeling of inferiority he felt around Nightwing banished as the car glowed to glorious life.

"We'll work from my base." Robin said, closing the passenger's seat door. "It's up to date but I'm sure you'll be able to improve it once you're…better."

Cyborg sighed. The adrenaline of the fight was gone and he could feel again the metal biting on his flesh and the plastic and cables mixed with his organs. All dead weight of a machine that was slowly losing all the energy it had left. The batteries had run low after few hours of usage and days of recharging. His body was obsolete.

But his mind was mostly human. He could still learn and work. Maybe that was all he would be able to do for the team. And Robin knew it. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

He stepped on the accelerator and rode out of Titan's Tower, maybe for the last time.

* * *

The T-Car glided in the darkness. The city was in silence, only the stray dogs could be heard, barking and howling in the night. Without the Titans to protect its streets, it had turned into one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. People were afraid to come out at night. Those that did usually didn't make it back home.

Nightwing hated this city. He hated what it had become. He felt responsible for it. If the Titans would have stayed together, how many lives could have been saved? How many criminals would be in jail instead of wandering freely on his streets?

The Titans were once again together, though. Maybe, soon, things would change again and for the better this time.

The Circus was disgusting. Majestic beasts lay crumbled inside tiny cages covered with snow. Burly men dressed as clowns and magicians patrolled its perimeter, armed to the teeth and eyeing them warily. Beast Boy hopped into a cage in a dark secluded corner and hurried back to their side with a backpack hanging from his shoulder.

"All set."

Raven was staring at him and Beast Boy pointedly ignored her. They sat as far apart as the car would allow. After a while, she looked away but that unease sensation, that unbearable sadness, still squeezed at his heart. He cleared his throat.

"So, uh…Nightwing what shampoo're you using?"

"Just stop using flee-poison in your hair, Beast Boy."

"Told ya that garbage was gonna burn your hair."

"Yeah…should've listened."

The small smiles in their faces disappeared. Raven's soft voice floated in the air.

"We all should have listened more."

* * *

"You wasted no time, uh?"

"Time is too precious to be wasted, Cyborg."

Nightwing stated firmly as he led them through a long dark corridor. The lights came to life and died again as they moved. It was cold in there and every step they took caused a metallic echo around them. It was a far cry from the warm home the Tower had once been.

"Kinda miss my cage." Beast Boy murmured. They glanced at him. "Well, 'cage', right? Kind of a backstage, really."

They finally reached the main room, where several computers beeped and hummed on the walls. A huge screen was the source of the only light illuminating the room. In front of it, a single black chair.

"You were a freak in a cage, Beast Boy." Cyborg grumbled, glancing around. "And I'm starting to feel like a burnt up toaster in a Microsoft-display."

As if to mock him, his robotic eye started flickering and a small alarm beeped. The blue glow of his mechanical parts flickered and died.

"I need to re-charge. Now."

"Here…"

Robin pressed a button in the wall and two panels slid open, revealing the circuits hiding under the iron. Cyborg approached and examined the connector before him. Like everything in here, it was far too advanced for his old circuits. An adapter would allow him to plug in, but to prevent his organic parts from frying; he would have to get disconnected.

"I won't be around for a while."

It was all he said, before connecting the cable into his circuits and the wall- connector. As the energy flood into him, awareness slipped and his body slumped slightly forward. The red cybernetic eye flickered one last time and went dead and his human eye glazed over. The only sound coming from him was produced by the raw sizzling electricity feeding his circuits.

"We all should get some rest." Nightwing stated. "I just have one bed. Raven can use it. You and I will sleep on the ground."

"I do not need a bed."

Raven said and walked away from them towards a secluded corner in the back, where the light of the screen did not reach. Her body merged with the darkness and they could see her no more.

Beast Boy's body changed and shrunk. Nightwing found himself in the company of a small green cat.

"I don't need a bed either." It said and hopped into the chair, purring. "I can use the chair."

It was a pleasant surprise to hear him speak in animal form. At least, he had improved at something. Nightwing glanced at Cyborg and then at the dark corner where Raven had disappeared, and sighed.

* * *

He couldn't sleep. There were too many things in his head and even though he tried to hide it, all kind of emotions were boiling under the cool composed exterior.

He had learnt to deal with their loss but now, Starfire's sweet voice, the way she speak, her beautiful face, her vibrant eyes…it all burnt in his mind with renewed power. Sending her back had beenthe right thing to do…not that it made him feel any better. It angered him that after so many years, he once again laid awake because of her.

There was a noise in the corner and he turned to look. Two circular white lights were fixed on him. Raven was awake. She was talking…but he realized the words were not meant to be heard. Those eyes did not see and just happened to fall where he lay. He rose to his feet. The sudden movement seemed to startle her. The glowing eyes disappeared and all he could see was darkness once again. He sighed and turned. It startled him to find another set of eyes watching him quietly from the dark. Those, however, were not intimidating. They irradiated fear and revulsion. The fur of the green cat was on end. It morphed and took the form of a fat small man. Beast Boy's eyes remained in the darkness where Raven hid and his whole body shuddered.

"Can't sleep. I feel weird." His stomach growled fiercely. "Or maybe just hungry."

"We could use some breakfast. It's just a few hours before dawn, anyway."

* * *

Cyborg stirred. His circuits went back on line. His battery was recharged. As his awareness returned, he felt the pain first, then the nausea and that burning sensation on the pit of his stomach. It always happened after a burst of raw energy. Before he opened his eyes, his nose caught a sent. An aroma he had not smelt in years. It brought a torrent of heart-warming memories. His mouth watered and his eyes opened to the world once again.

There was a small table in the middle of the room. A single white light washed over the plates saddled with fried eggs and the glasses filled with orange juice. A mountain of waffles stood proudly on the center.

"Oh, my God…"

"Morning." Robin said with a smile.

Beast Boy gestured at the served food with a broad fanged smile.

"Breakfast's served!"

"Man…I hope those eggs ain't that tofu crap…"

"Robin didn't have any. But don't need to worry, I'll get some later."

They smiled almost timidly at one another, a bit embarrassed by the strong feelings dancing in their chests. Robin walked further into the room and faced the impenetrable darkness laying passed any light.

"I bet you're hungry. Would you care to join us?"

It seemed his offer would be ignored but then a white figure slowly emerged from its dark refugee. Raven stepped into the light and stared in disbelief at the table.

"Waffles?"

"A favorite!" Robin stated with a smile and grabbed her hand. "Come on."

He led her to the table and they sat. They ate in silence, but for the first time in a very long time, they were happy.


	2. Waffles

Beast Boy's breathing sounded like a piece of metal being sawed-off. His green skin gleamed with sweat. He turned into several animals for a minute or two, but it felt horrible no matter what form he took. He was going to die. He had rejoined the Titans just to be killed by a treadmill.

"I…gotta.…stop…I….have ta….resst…"

And between one word and the other, his legs just buckled under him. His body slipped in the treadmill and was ejected straight against a wall. He struggled to catch his breath, not caring the weird position in which he had fallen.

"Wow. You lasted two minutes. I'm impressed."

"…Two…minutes… ? Oh, dude….it seemed….a life….time…in hell!"

"How could you mess yourself up so much, Beast Boy?" Nightwing asked with a scowl.

"Easy. Lots of tofu…no exercise…"

Robin didn't seem to appreciate the joke.

"Get back on your feet. And try to keep up this time. You are of no use to the city like this."

Beast Boy struggled to sit and cleared the sweat of his face. His legs were trembling badly and his lungs burnt. Nightwing was already walking away. The others followed. At least he was going to be spared further humiliation.

" Try to go easy on BB, Robin…" Cyborg said as they walked out of the training room, leaving a trembling Beast Boy behind. " He's had a rough time…"

"We all did, Cyborg. But this isn't a support group. We are supposed to form a team to fight criminals and monsters. Either you are useful, or you aren't. Did you check the computer systems?"

There was no answer. Robin turned to the cyborg. The huge man had aged a lot. He appeared to be in his late forties when in reality, he was just a few years older than the rest of them. But there was still fire on his one good eye, a fire the others had lost.

"Yeah. Pretty high tech, but missing some controls and programs. If I install them you can…"

"If you think it'll improve it, do it. Let's not waste time with explanations. Get to it as soon as possible."

"…Sure."

He turned and walked away.

"Oh, and Cyborg…Its Nightwing now."

"Yeah. Nightwing…"

Nightwing frowned. He was starting to have second thoughts. The other Titans…his friends, were in worst mental and physical conditions than he had thought. It was going to be a challenge just getting them back in shape.

"It will not work."

He jumped, startled. Raven was standing next to him. He had forgotten.

"What won't work?"

"The New Titans. Without her, this is for nothing. A waste of time."

"She's gone, Raven. She's part of the past. It isn't good to dwell on that."

"Where did she go?"

"To the past, where she belonged. Listen, why don't you go and help Cyborg?…I need to go on patrol and I don't think you…"

"Where is Starfire, Robin?"

Nightwing stared at her, at those big bleary eyes. He suddenly understood. It didn't make much of a difference. It was a subject they had talked about before. They had worked on it for almost a year. The portal through which their Starfire had disappeared into would not re-open. And when Raven tried to use an alternative route…

"Let's go to Cyborg before I leave."

He grabbed her hand and led her back towards the control room, where Cyborg was probably already working on improving the systems.

"Energy is movement. It moves in many directions. It forms dimensions. To get to the Past you need to travel through many! There are millions of them!"

"Raven…"

"There is Hell and Azarath." Raven continued speaking and dark sparks of energy flew off of her. "There is the Past and the Future and the Now. Our dimension is just our dimension. It's the Now. The Starfire from the Past belonged here no more than my Father did! Robin…"

"It's Nightwing now!" He whirled on her, suddenly enraged. His fingers closed tightly around her thin shoulders. "Listen to me. You tried to get her back before. It didn't work. It almost killed you!"

Her eyes grew sad.

"I am a human being…I…make mistakes."

"I know. I'm not saying…"

"I can move through all dimensions…but which is which? Where is one and where the other? How can I know where to go?"

He was starting to freak out, even though his face betrayed no emotion. He had abandoned her once. He had been so overwhelmed that he had to leave. But what was he supposed to do with her now? He thought frantically of all the heroes, ex-honorary Titans, Justice League members, for someone that may be able to help Raven deal with her mind, with her powers with…

"Direction." He stated suddenly. "You can´t tell which dimension is which. Or where the right one is."

Raven smiled, pleased.

"Correct."

"Warp could move through dimensions easily. He was able to go where he had to and had the means to get back. That gizmo of his must have helped him find the right way."

"Cyborg can fix it."

"Let's get moving."

* * *

Cyborg studied the device carefully, his big greasy fingers staining the shinning bronze.

"It's fried."

"You can fix it."

Raven stated calmly. He stared at her for a moment before nodding curtly.

"Not completely. It won't open the portal no more. But…you don't need it to do that."

"Do we want to do this?" Beast Boy asked shyly. "I mean…last time she tried…"

Raven turned to Nightwing and fixed those big pensive eyes on him. The others did as well, waiting silently. They trusted his judgment, even after all that has happened. Of his answer two lives depended. It was a great burden, but it was taken willingly.

"If it means getting Starfire back, it's worth the risk. Fix it."

Cyborg sighed and turned from them without a word.

Raven smiled pleasantly. Her body was swallowed by darkness and then she was gone.

"I don't like this." Beast Boy whimpered. "What if something goes wrong? What if she goes all psycho again? What if she dies? What if…"

"We risk our lives for others all that time, Beast Boy. That's what being a hero's all about."

* * *

Cyborg locked the pieces back together and the blue crystal gleamed for a moment. He stared at it. How was it possible such a small thing had managed to do what so many villains had failed to do? It had destroyed the Titans. It had plunged the city into chaos.

He placed the device back on the table. It was stupid to be angry at an object. It had done nothing. Not even Warp was fully responsible. They had lost a friend and instead of closing ranks to fill in the gap…they had allowed that lost to destroy them.

A small pale hand emerged suddenly from the shadows and greedy fingers trapped Warp's device. He caught the fleeting arm. Raven returned his glare with placid indifference.

"Loosing Starfire was the worst thing that's ever happened to us. Period. Ah don't wanna loose another friend."

"Nothing bad will happen." She stated calmly. "I will not fail again."

"I'm not worried 'bout failure, Rae…Is this gonna hurt you?"

A sudden fire gleamed behind the fog clouding her eyes and her chakra glowed brightly in the darkness of her covered head.

"I am stronger now. I will bring her back."

The thin arm trapped between his fingers felt cold and soft…and then he could not feel it anymore. Raven banished, engulfed by darkness once again. Cyborg was left alone with his doubts and the bitter memories of the past.

* * *

Raven placed Warp's device in the ground with motherly care. Candles floated and arranged themselves around the room, a burst of fire dancing between them, lighting each candlewick. The words of the spell were murmured over and over again, as if being studied for the first time. But Raven had known the words by heart for almost 15 years now. Repeating them was merely a way to calm her excitement.

Beast Boy circled her, pouring sand from a small jar as he went. His eyes were stuck in the small white body, an uncharacteristic grim expression on the round green face. It was not too late to stop her, to break that hateful device so they could move on with their lives. A guttural growl escaped his lips and Raven turned to regard him silently. Their eyes met…and all anger and fear banished from Beast Boy's heart. He felt strangely at peace under the scrutiny of those blue bleary eyes.

She smiled and turned back. Beast Boy blinked and shuddered, hurrying away as far from her as he could.

"How do we know if something starts to go wrong?" Nightwing asked, standing with crossed arms not far away. "And how do we stop it?"

"Nothing will go wrong."

"We must assume it may. How do we stop it?"

"You can't stop it." She pushed back her robe and bent her legs, levitating a few feet above the ground. Her eyes glowed hauntingly. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos…"

"This is wrong…" Cyborg murmured darkly. "If she…"

"We should stop her…"

"It is her decision." Nightwing interrupted tartly. "She said it won't happen again."

Any argument was irrelevant. It had already begun. A shadow rose from Raven's body. It spread ghastly wins and plunged into Warp's device, merging within the blue crystal. There was a blinding flash of light and then, the room went dark.

* * *

Time is a human concept. It's a series of metrics that we use to explain the physical changes occurring around us. Time does not exist for the rest of the Universe. All that exists is energy and it moves constantly, causing things to change.

Raven liked to think of existence as an infinite extension of cords. Some cords were made of light and those boiled with movement. It was there where Universes formed, where planets and stars and life was. And then there were voids at each side of all dimensions. Cords of nothingness that kept energy running smoothly in some sort of order. Cord of light and dark standing together in perfect harmony to allow existence.

She flew through raging energy and black voids effortlessly to her final destination: the future into which Starfire had being dragged into by Warp so long ago. The device guided her, like a hound would a blind man.

But Raven never made it to the Future. She stopped abruptly right at its doors, in the dark cord that guarded it. That void which isolated the Future was not…nothing. Like a handful of golden dust in a well-polished table, Raven sensed the traces of something within it: traces of energy that, at one point, had formed a living creature. It was the essence of who had been her only friend, scattered, cold…lost forever.

For the first time since things were, energy stopped and the voids were filled. For a moment, all that existed was the anguished cries of a raven.

* * *

The T-car slammed hard against the wall. Unsatisfied by its broken windows and dented bodywork, Cyborg rammed his fist into the hood and ripped the motor off. He whirled around and threw it as hard as he could against the floor. It exploded, sending the humanoid flying several feet back. Cyborg grunted when he hit the ground. He slid to a stop and struggled to rise. All that was left to do was screaming.

"You just destroyed very expensive equipment, Cyborg." Nightwing noted. "Replacements are hard to get."

"Have you no heart?" He bellowed, storming towards him. "We should've stopped her! This's your fault!"

Nightwing's expression never changed, but his fists closed tightly at his sides.

"I will ask you to keep it down. And in case you have forgotten, we were all there."

The huge man shuddered visibly, baring his teeth like an animal about to attack. Nightwing did not move. At the last moment, the cyborg whirled around and stormed away.

"Well, then we should've stopped her, damn it!"

"It was her decision."

"She ain't right in the head! Don't you get it! She flipped…She…Never mind. What'd you know? This was all a mistake."

He left the room without looking back and Nightwing made no move to stop him.

* * *

The room was dark saved for the dim light of the foot-lamp standing next to the bed. Beast Boy suddenly realized there were no windows in the entire base-hold. The sunlight never washed over its iron walls. Maybe it was a factor that added to his depression.

Raven's thin body levitated over the mattress. Her eyes were open, glowing hauntingly. They never blinked. It freaked the hell out of him.

"You were always creepy…" He commented, his ears twitching slightly, his voice sounding incredibly loud in that small room. His gloved hand cradled Raven's. "But no one's perfect…Heh, I'm probably the worst…I'm sorry I´ve being such a lame friend, Rae. I…I should've stopped you..I...How could I let this happen again…?"

Fifteen years ago, Raven had told them some creature named Malchior taught her a spell that could bring Starfire back. It was powerful and it would break the barriers that kept her from moving freely between dimensions. It sounded dangerous but at the time, they were all too busy hating each other to care.

Robin was out, fighting crime alone. He was at the Tower, playing a video game with Cyborg in complete silence. The smallest joke, the most insignificant trick, could be taken as an insult and trigger a horrible fight. The wonder boy was no longer a friend but Cyborg was different. They were buddies; he remembered that overpowering need to try to work things out. To forgive and forget no matter how hard it was.

He also remembered how Raven had appeared that horribly cold night to remind them about the spell. There was a smile on each word she spoke and sad eyes gleamed with enthusiasm.

Beast Boy covered his face in shame at the memory. He had told her she was never around when they needed her. It was time to return the favor. And Cyborg had agreed then. In a tome of rebuke, he had told her she was like a ghost lost in the tower. He couldn't think of her as a friend, or a Titan…or nothing.

Neither of them had even turned to look and she left without a word. The next thing they heard of her for almost a year, was a blood-curling scream. They had found her in her room in the same state she was in now: unmoving, floating, her eyes open but blind to the world.

A blinding rage overpowered anything else and Beast Boy's body shifted and changed. Suddenly, there was a huge beast towering above Raven's bed, howling tortuously.

"Know the feeling."

The urge to attack was halted in time and Beast Boy struggled to regain control. The huge fearsome beast changed and on its place stood a small fat man once again. Cyborg smiled sadly at him.

"I'm going back to the Tower."

"I won't leave." He stated. "Not till she wakes up. I won't abandon her again."

"We never abandoned her."

"Yeah, we did. You guys just never understood how."

"BB…"

"If you gonna leave, go. I aint in the mood for talks right now."

Raven blinked and her body fell into the mattress with a thud. Her eyes lost their glow and bleary eyes slowly cleared. Cyborg and Beast Boy felt silent and stared, holding their breaths without realizing.

"Uh…Rae? Are you okay?"

"Man, what happened?"

Raven didn't answer. There was nothing she wanted to say.

* * *

It wasn't always this hard, but when there was a lot to deal with at the same time, things could get complicated. As Plasma once again caused floods of sewage effluents in the western side of the city, Mammoth had killed three people in a frenzy at the East coast. Two of them, cops. He had arrived at the scene of the crime too late and that killer was still loose in the city.

Mammoth had been a pest before, in the early years of his mutation. He used to be a thief and a bully but not a killer. It had all changed in recent years. The mutant had more claws, more teeth, more muscles and more fur…but his brain kept getting smaller. He wasn't human anymore.

Beast Boy had the ability to track him down but he couldn't, because running for a few minutes almost caused him heart-attacks. Cyborg was too depressed and insecure to realize his body wasn't as obsolete and useless as he seemed to think. And Raven was in a coma.

He stopped for a moment and sighed. He was going to tell Cyborg and Beast Boy to leave. It had been a nice idea but…it was not going to work and there was too much to do in the city to worry about anything else. He was also going to call the Justice League so they could take Raven in. They own him and had the resources to deal with her case.

He reached the control room and the door slid open before him. He stepped inside and a sudden burst of sound and lights made him jump back. All number of explosive disks and knives were readied between his fingers…but there was no need to use them.

Cyborg, glowing in all his blue glory, advanced towards him with a green monkey perched on his shoulder. They were grinning and laughing. Beast Boy jumped and morphed into a huge tiger.

"We've got some Grrrrreeeeat neeewws!" He roared.

"Uh…"

"RAVEN FOUND STARFIRE!" Cyborg bellowed, blowing them back a few feet. "Ain't that great?"

It took a great deal of self control not to run back into the room to see for himself. Instead, the leader of the Titans walked calmly into the room, his expression set and composed.

All lights were on. There were no longer shadows in the corners. Raven sat alone in the chair, looking exhausted. Nightwing couldn't help to notice the absence of certain alien…

"Raven? Are you okay?"

"Tired."

"They said you found her?"

"I…couldn't bring her back."

Something in the tone of her voice set all type of alarms on his head.

"Why not?"

Raven shifted and pulled her robe tighter around her body. He wanted to pull that damn hood back to see her face. He needed to see her eyes.

Raven rose from the chair and walked away from him.

"She was trapped. I need to recover my strength and then I will go back."

"You were out for three days. How is it possible…?"

"It just is."

Her body was swallowed by shadows and disappeared into thin air.

* * *

They ate their breakfast in silence. Raven watched her friends warily All the anger and sadness they had been irradiating for years was subdued that morning. There was hope and happiness mixed with the negative emotions. All because of a few words…

Beast Boy drank his orange juice and then belched thunderously, spitting tofu on the table.

"Uh…sorry…"

Nightwing and Cyborg stared grimly at him a moment…and then laughed hysterically. The green man soon joined them. It was a wonderful sound and it filled the empty dark corridors for long minutes. After the storm of laughter had passed, Cyborg cleared his throat and placed a heavy hand on Nightwing's shoulder.

"Look, man, I'm sorry about yesterday. What I said. I was..."

"It's okay, Cyborg. We were all a little edgy."

"You kept your cool."

"Dude, he always keeps his cool."

The alarm started wailing, red lights flickering in and out. The sudden chaos startled Beast Boy. He automatically turned into a mouse and ran for cover. Nightwing stood and walked towards the exit followed closely by Cyborg. Beast Boy switched back and hurried after them.

"I don't think you two are up to it yet."

"How 'bout you let us decided that." Cyborg said.

"And the fight with Warp didn´t go so bad." Beast Boy added, raising timid eyes from the ground. He shifted into several animals: a bear, a dinosaur and a pig, as if trying to convince them he was in good shape. "It's all good!"

Nightwing glanced at Raven. She stayed in the chair, focused entirely on her plate. He couldn't even see her face, for it was hidden by that concealing hood. With a sigh, he nodded at the others and they hurried away.

A brief pulse of her powers silenced the alarm. The lights went off and her eyes could rest. Crying was useless, but sometimes it could not be helped. She needed to. Furniture around her melted and disappeared, but she heed it no mind.

* * *

"Please!" The woman screamed, scrambling back. "Please! Don't hurt me! Have mercy!"

A beastly man towered over her, deaf to the pitiful begging. It was not out of cruelty, merely of sickness. Mammoth could not hear her over the constant ringing on his ears, that constant stabbing agony ripping at his brain. He howled again and leaped.

The woman screamed and covered her head in a pathetic attempt to protect herself. Strong arms wrapped tightly around her body. There was no pain but she cringed at the sudden stench of wet dog and boiled tofu invading her nostrils. She opened her eyes and found herself in the arms of a huge green gorilla. It was running clumsily in two strong but short legs.

"How…huff…you doing?" It wheezed, apparently trying to look seductive. "I´ll tell ya…huff…whole and safe…huff…with the freakish wonder…"

"You…are that thing from the Circus?"

"Yeah…Huff…Uh…want…huff…an autograph…? Ohman…ack!…"

The creature shrunk and turned into a small fat man. He staggered to a halt and dropped the woman in the pavement.

"Ow! What's your…Uh…are you all right?"

"…a…minute…"

Nightwing evaded the erratic blows of Mammoth as the mutant lashed out at him with hellish fury. One glance to the side confirmed Cyborg was in position and ready. Mammoth would not escape this time. One shot of a powerful plasma cannon was just what the city needed to rid itself of this threat. Nightwing smirked in anticipation and threw an explosive disk at Mammoth's face. It detonated right on the target and the mutant staggered back, howling in pain. Cyborg's eyes glinted and he fired.

Frightened people emerged from their refugees to stare at the airborne mutant. Mammoth slammed hard against a concrete wall and fell in a smoking heap on the ground. He did not move again. It seemed the entire city went silent…before exploding into a frenzy of screaming and cheering. The three Titans were surrounded by a mob of smiling grateful people.

Beast Boy was a little nervous at first and cowered behind his team mates. He recognized some of the most hostile people of his old audience in that crowd. But the celebration spirit finally caught up to him and autographs were given to any who asked…and some that didn't.

Cyborg would deny it later…but there were tears glistening on his one good eye all the way back home.

* * *

Raven had managed to calm down and fix the chaos her weeping-storm had caused. She would be unable to handle Robin's anger if he were to arrive home and find it disintegrated. If he screamed at her she would lose precious control. It was not something any of them could afford.

The door slid open. Beast Boy was the first to enter. He stormed towards her and took the form of a bear. She backed away. He looked angry …Maybe he knew. He had always been able to read her like an open book. He was going to attack.

Raven closed her eyes. The bear crushed her in loving hug. Cyborg jumped seemly out of nowhere and joined them. Raven relaxed in their embrace after a moment and searched Nightwing with her eyes, trying to find out what was going on.

"Mammoth has being secured."

He said, marching towards the main computer. A picture of Mammoth appeared on the screen. The words "Maximum Security Prison N°64" was typed on it and then filed away. He was smiling by the time it was done.

"Well, it all went pretty well. I wasn't sure it would work, but it did!"

"Yeah, it did!" Cyborg agreed. For the first time since this all started, he stood straight. "And I say people notice too!"

"You should have been there!" Beast Boy stated, his muzzle resting on Raven's hooded head. "All ladies went crazy in the presence of the green dude!"

"Put me down."

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally set her down. His body turned and shifted and he was once again a human being. They kept smiling and Raven relaxed her guard for a moment, allowing all their emotions to flood her. Happiness, contentment, confidence. It made her smile slightly. And it helped her reach a decision.

"I will go to sleep. I need to gather my strength."

They were still talking when she walked out of the room and to the sick bay, where she slept now. Her fingers caressed Warp's device lovingly within the folds of her robe.


	3. A rat in a cage

The night was beautiful. The sky was as clear as it would ever get. Her eyes glanced up at the moon, glowing above in all its glory. The clock was safely placed in front of her. Everything was ready. She closed her eyes and levitated, crossing her legs in the air. She started chanting- her voice deep and hollow. Her self-soul lifted from her body. The clock glowed and the dark raven darted towards it.

* * *

"WHOO YA!" Cyborg snarled, jumping off the couch with one huge fist raised in triumph. "And Mr Cyborg kicks butt once mo'!"

"Dude! That's not fair!" Beast Boy dropped the joystick and settled to sulk on the couch for a while.

"Yeah, it is. Best always wins!"

The changeling mumbled something and turned away. Cyborg was still smiling when he sat back down and turned to where Beast Boy had sat. Now Robin was planted there with the joystick on his hands.

"Then I think I'll win next!"

"Sounds like a challenge to me."

They both plunged into the game with wild toothy smiles plastered across their faces.

"Do not be sad, my friend. I have prepared a most delightful concoction for your enjoyment."

Beast Boy froze and turned slowly to find the horror that was Starfire with a bowl and a spoon. Years of practice prepared him for survival. He dodged the stabbing spoon aimed at his mouth and gagged on the foul smell of the hideous concoction it was saddled with it. Starfire, unfazed by his reaction, pressed the culinary attack.

"It's being conceived of glarnuk fruits with five different types of the most tasteful fungus of Earth and Tamaran."

"Please, Star, my tummy's still healing from your last weirdo cake!"

"You shall enjoy this one, I am most certain!"

Starfire started chasing Beast Boy around- with her spoon. He shifted into a monkey to escape, screaming and darting all over the room. He changed into a mice and a hawk in two tight occasions. The exit door slid open and Beast Boy lunged for the opening. The small monkey landed on Raven's face. She stiffened and snatched him off by the tail just to have a spoon shoved into her mouth.

Starfire's face went deadly pale. Beast Boy turned into a cockroach and hurried away. The event was stunning enough that Robin and Cyborg stopped struggling over a joystick to stare in stunned silence. Raven's face turned all shades of green before she recovered and spat the hideous spongy greenish substance out. When her eyes opened again, they were blazing...

"Starfire!"

A huge dark shadow emerged from nowhere, its dark spread wings engulfing the light of sun outside. Starfire turned sharply to face the thing and screeched when its dark claw slashed forward and snatched her off her feet.

"Eeeeek!"

The shadowy raven screeched and banished, taking the alien with her. Starfire's screams echoed briefly before slowly dying away.

Robin and Cyborg- their video game forgotten- gaped at the scene. Beast Boy emerged from behind the kitchen counter.

"Raven!"

They all stared at the half-demon but she looked as stunned and confused as they were. She raised her arms defensively.

"It wasn't me!"

* * *

"Fuck it!" Cyborg slammed his massive hand on the wall. The entire room shuddered by the impact. "As soon as she gets back, I'm gonna break that damn thing! It's caused us nothing but misery!"

"We have to trust her." Nightwing stated firmly.

The cyborg snorted in disgust and paced on the room like a caged tiger. Beast Boy sighed, his big sad eyes never leaving the still form of Raven. Her pale face was frozen in a pained expression as her sweat covered body floated inches away from the mattress. Cyborg slumped on a chair on the other side of the bed.

"If she dies I swear I'm…"

He left the sentence incomplete. Beast Boy scowled at him.

"She won't. She's strong."

Alarms wailed and flared. Nightwing dashed out of the room. Beast Boy and Cyborg glanced at the still figure on the bed before resolutely walking out of the room.

* * *

The city was in chaos. People screamed and scattered for cover as a monster snarled and stormed through the streets. It destroyed everything on its way. Many people lay wounded and screaming among the ruble. Mammoth's fangs dripped blood and spittle. His unfocused eyes searched frantically about as he sniffed the air. He staggered to the side as something impacted against his arm and exploded. It burnt the flesh but he no longer felt pain. There was only rage. The smoke lifted and he was able to see the attackers.

"You're starting to piss me off, Mammoth." Nightwing said, removing from his belt an iron staff and twirling it masterfully between his fingers.

"Yeah!"

Beast Boy added, straightening his back. His huge belly ruined the bad-ass impression so he quickly turned into a dinosaur. He roared mightily and charged towards Mammoth. The mutant snarled back and before they collided, Beast Boy shifted into a pigeon and flew quickly away. The mutant staggered slightly before finding a new objective.

Beast Boy morphed back into human next to a pile of rubles, panting. He cursed himself for his lack of control. He watched Nightwing and Cyborg battling the rabid mutant for a moment. He took deep breaths and morphed into an elephant. He was about to run again when a slight whimper caught his ear. He turned and saw a young woman moaning on the ground, her legs caught under the debris of a collapsed wall. He hurried to her side.

Nightwing evaded the erratic blows of Mammoth. He could see bullet wounds oozing blood on his back and stomach It was amazing the mutant could still move, much less fight. He wondered grimly if there was something besides dead penalty that could put a stop to this menace. It was the third time the bastard had managed to escape from prison. Mammoth jumped back to gain some distance. He seemed ready to pounce on him when a blue blast barreled the brute off his feet. It sent him flying against a car.

Cyborg walked slowly to meet the fallen enemy, his canon ready to fire again. Mammoth growled and jumped to his feet. Cyborg shot again. This time, the mutant brought up his arm to cover his face and held his ground, bearing the brunt of the laser blast. He started moving towards Cyborg, growling. The Titan increased the force of the blast. The mutant whimpered and halted his slow advance. It seemed he would be pulled back once again but then sparks started sizzling off Cyborg's back and arms. His legs shuddered; his beaming eye flickered and died out. He couldn't even scream as all his internal system collapsed and awareness abandoned him. Mammoth howled in triumph and slammed against Cyborg with all his strength and ripped clean cuts across the unfeeling metal of his chest…

Nightwing send three explosive disks against Mammoth. They exploded in his face and forced him to back away from the fallen Titan. Another explosive flew right into his open mouth and another against his chest. The mutant whimpered and darted to the side. Nightwing removed from his belt an stun gun. One good zapped on the back of the brute's head would be enough to put him down. They faced each other in tense silence.

Police cars halted brusquely around them. Cops jumped out and and aimed tranquilizer guns at the mutant. Without warning, they shot. Mammoth howled enraged as darts filled his back and legs. He fell to his knees, growling pitifully. He moved with stunning speed and jumped over the cars. Nightwing reacted faster than the others, but the mutant was running too fast for him to catch him in time…

"Beast Boy!" He screamed, trying to get a good shot with the gun. "Watch out!"

Beast Boy turned from the wounded woman. His breath caught on his throat at the sight of the frosting mutant charging against him. His mind raced through all the animals he could shift into and all the possible counterattacks. His body turned into a rat and hurried to hide behind the rubles trapping the woman's leg. Everyone screamed at the sudden opening to a helpless victim, but Beast Boy was deaf to pleads and horror. He only knew Mammoth would hurt him. He only remember the pain of vicious attacks and the fear of death. A blinding light, shut-guns, the horrible scent of burnt meat and pained howls. The small rat whimpered and shivered on his refugee, waiting for the chaos to pass.

Mammoth fell face first on the gravel. Nightwing snatched roughly the dart of the stun gun from the mutant's neck. Cups lowered their smocking guns and surrounded the dead criminal. Others approached the wounded woman to assist her. A green rat emerged from the crumbled pile of debris and changed back into human form.

* * *

The ride back to the base was filled with tense silence. Cyborg had woken up a few minutes after collapsing during the battle, stored energy finally kicking in. He was too dazed to drive so Nightwing sat behind the wheel of the T-car. Beast Boy huddled on the back seat, looking sad and ashamed. When they arrived to the hold base, he had gathered enough courage to speak.

"I'm sorry. I-I just…"

"I don't want cowards in my team."

Nightwing marched inside without looking back. Beast Boy sighed and shifted into a gorilla. He picked the dazed Cyborg out of the car.

Nightwing stormed through the dark corridors. He couldn't believe Beast Boy had left a wounded helpless woman at the mercy of that charging maniac. It seemed there was no way around things: the Titans were over and part of the past. He entered the main room. A very colorful thing stood in the middle of the dark gloomy place, like a huge flower in the middle of the desert…

"Greetings friend!" Starfire swept him off his feet for a hug. "I have missed you greatly!"

Stunned into silence, Nightwing glanced at the white figure slumped on a chair next to the table. Raven smiled wearily at him.

"Oh, my God…" Cyborg gasped upon the sight before him. Starfire dropped Nightwing and flew towards the oldest Titan, hugging him tenderly. "Is it really you? I mean…you _belong_ here?"

Starfire hesitated and glanced at Raven. The sorceress smiled reassuringly and nodded. The alien hugged the green gaping gorilla that was Beast Boy.

"I think that I do!"

"You think you do?" The smile on Nightwing's face banished and he turned to Raven.

"I am confused. I remember the fight against Warp. I jumped for his device and then…And then this." She glanced at each Titans as if seeing them for the first time. The sight seemed to sadden her. "I am glad to be back but I wonder what has occurred. You look…very different."

"Time happened, Star. You've being away for twenty years…"

Starfire had a strange sense of déjà vu. Cyborg shuffled wearily away and Nightwing centered his attention on Raven. Beast Boy remained in the back, his sad eyes fixed on the floor. She floated towards him.

"Friend?" He flinched and looked up with glistening eyes. "What has occurred? You look so sad."

"Nothing, Star." Beast Boy glanced sadly at Nightwing. "Just life. I'm glad you're back."

The changeling turned to leave.

"Where are you going? I was hoping we could eat the dinner now. I am really hungry!"

"I need to go home. Maybe you come and visit sometime." He attempted a smile. A grimace came out.

"I do not understand. Isn't this…" She glanced at the dark room and its blinding monitors and noisy machines. "…the home?"

"Not mine."

And he was gone. Starfire turned to the others. Cyborg was facing a wall, struggling with something and neither Nightwing nor Raven seemed to have notice the changeling's departure.

"And why hasn't she aged?"

"Time works different where she was."

Raven answered wearily. He was about to ask something else when she wobbled back to her feet. She fixed him with an unblinking stare.

"She is back. Isn't that enough?"

Nightwing realized that any possible answer to that question would come out as an accusation. He noticed her legs were trembling.

"We'll continue this conversation tomorrow. Go get some rest."

He turned away from her and walked to the central computer to type down the latest events regarding Mammoth. The mutant was luckily dead. It wasn't very fulfilling but at least no more people would die at the hands of that rampaging creature.

Raven slumped back in the chair and closed her eyes. It seemed she would fall asleep right there. Starfire placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Let us go to your room."

"The Infirmary, downstairs." Nightwing stated without looking away from the computer.

* * *

Starfire laid Raven down on the bed and tucked her in under the covers. Instead of complaining by her attentions, Raven smiled warmly at her. In a way, her gratitude was more disturbing than Beast Boy's sadness and Nightwing and Cyborg's indifference.

"I'm glad your back."

Raven said. Starfire forced a smile.

"I'm glad to be back as well…"


	4. Changeling

They ate dinner in silence. Starfire stared at Nightwing. He looked angry and she wasn't sure why. Raven and Beast Boy were not present and Cyborg...She glanced at him. He looked like a rusty abandoned machine, huddled in a corner, the eerie blue light of his metal parts gone. Her green eyes darted back to Robin.

"Hum…Robin?"

"Its Nightwing now."

He said shortly and rose from the table, throwing his plate and cup down a strange hole in the ground. Starfire wondered where it led to. He marched towards the massive computer taking a big part of the front wall and sat before it.

"Hum...Are you angry with me?"

"No. Why would you think that?"

"You have not reacted with the warmness I would have expected upon my returning." Her eyes filled with tears as she glanced at the sleeping Cyborg. "None of you have…You are all so…broken."

Nightwing sighed and turned to regard her. His face had softened and she could see there the caring friend she knew and loved.

"Bad things happened, Star. After you left…"

"But now I have returned."

"Yes…yes you have." He looked a bit ashamed. "I just…Its hard to believe you are...really here."

"I am real."

That matter-of-fact way she spoke was always endearing and Nightwing allowed himself to smile. Starfire smiled back.

* * *

The Circus. She wasn't sure how she had gotten there. She walked through the snow, letting her legs guide here to where her mind had no recollection of ever being. And there it was. A lone cage with a sign in front of it that read:. Freakish Wonder. Such a title for one who had been a hero.

As she approached, she noticed there was a green gorilla sitting against the bars, throwing a ball against the only wall on the cage, catching it as it bounced back.

"Greetings, friend."

The gorilla caught the ball, but didn't threw it again.

"I've journeyed here to bring you some delicious food."

Beast Boy turned to look at Starfire. She was smiling, offering a cake. He took it. There was a long uncomfortable silence.

"Robin has informed me of what occurred." .

"Oh…" He turned back to his human form and walked away to place the cake behind the boxes where he slept.

"Cyborg and I wish you to return. We are friends."

"You and I can be that, Star. But I'm not a Titan anymore. I…I'm just a freak."

"No." She pressed against the bars. "You are Beast Boy. You are a Titan and you do not belong here."

"It was just a job, Star." He finally turned to her, wearing a big empty smile. "A job I'm not fit to do anymore. This is what I do now. And this is where I belong. This is my home."

"May I come in?" .

Beast Boy hesitated a moment, but finally walked towards the door and opened it for her.

"Sure. I shouldn't be eating all that cake by myself anyway." He placed a hand on his big belly.

"So, are you happy in this new...home?"

Starfire snatched her hand away from the wooden floor as a huge cockroach ran inches away from her fingers. It stopped near a piece of the cake that's fallen apart and touched it with its long antennae. Beast Boy pushed it away gently with one finger.

"Life's not about happiness, Star. That's only a child's dream."

That hurt her. Not only for what the words meant, but also because of the mouth they had come out from. It took her a moment to recover and when she opened her mouth to try and bring some hope into the little man before her, Beast Boy's ears perked up and he turned away.

Footsteps on the snow. A group of mean looking teenagers walked towards the cage.

"Look, the fat freak's got a girlfriend." One of them sneered, nudging the one next to him.

"Yo! Mount her!" Another one screamed.

The rest of them laughed. Starfire leaned towards Beast Boy.

"Are they requesting we play the horsie?"

"No, Star. Thanks for coming. You should go now."

"Fuck her! Fuck her! Fuck her!"

The crowd started chanting, some of the kids slamming their fists against the bars to emphasize their words. Starfire's face turned as red as her hair. Beast Boy frowned and finally faced them.

"Get a life! Get outta here!"

A snowball hit him on one of his eyes and other impacted right on his mouth. He coughed and turned as more followed. He stepped on one and fell backwards, rolling over and whimpering in a hump on the ground.

"Enough!"

He heard tiny explosions and the rain of snowballs stopped. He half opened his good eyes fearfully. Starfire was floating right in front of him, her hands surrounded with two balls of green light. There was smoke and melted snow at her feet. The teenagers had stopped and were staring at her with dull faces.

"Your cruelty disgusts me!" She told them. "Why do you attack one who has made you no harm?. If you do not wish to have a taste of what that feels, desist and depart."

Starfire turned and kneeled to help him back on his feet. A snowball hit her on the button and as she bolted upwards again with a yelped of surprise, turning back to her attackers, another one hit her right on the face. The crowd roared with laughter.

Beast Boy shuddered in rage. He didn't hear Starfire's angry shout, he didn't saw her floating up, ready to attack. The only thing he could see and hear was the mocking crowd. His blood boiled and he finally screamed. He roared and snarled and leaped at them. The cage stumbled down and he rammed into the wooden wall to break free.

Their before cruel faces turned into masks of horror and shock, their eyes fixed on the huge monster towering above them. Beast Boy roared again and leapted. The punks scattered like startled pigeons. A deafening howl reverberated through the entire Circus, silencing all muttering.

Starfire clapped happily and hugged the fearsome beast.

"You have overcome the fear! I congratulate you, my friend! You have placed them in the run!"

Beast Boy grabbed his wolfish head with two massive talons. Slowly, he turned back to his human form. He felt Starfire's warm hands grabbing his.

"Oh, Star…" .

"Come!" She beamed and lifted them both off the ground. "We must inform the others of this wonderful recovery."

"But Star, I…"

She just speeded up. He moaned and kicked in the air weakly.

The panel doors sliced open to reveal the Titans eating breakfast at the table. Only Nightwing looked up to meet them. He scowled darkly at the sight of Beast Boy but Starfire didn't notice.

"Greetings, friends!" She beamed. "I have located Beast Boy and he has agreed to return home.

"It wasn't his decision to leave in the first place." Nightwing stated sternly and he gave his back to him to continue his work. "He is of no use to the team."

"But he is a Titan. He belongs with us."

Nightwing sighed and finally stood up. He stood in front of Beast Boy.

"The woman you failed to defend could have died." He stated gravely. The green man's eyes remained on the ground. "How can I trust you in the battlefield when you cannot trust yourself enough to stay and fight?"

"But he has recovered the courage." Starfire objected. "He defended me when I received the offence back in the circus. He did an error but he's a friend and it is our duty to help each other in moments of need…Is it not?"

"We are not friends anymore."

Beast Boy winced and looked up. Nightwing was towering over him, his shadow blocking out the light of the lone lamp hangin from the roof. Cyborg's weary eyes never raised from his plate. Raven was looking at him, was staring intently. Waiting.

"You cant trust a coward to watch your back!" Nightwing was saying tartly.

The comment made Raven smile. It was a small little smile that held nothing good. There was mockery and contempt on it and Beast Boy wasn't sure if it was aimed to him or Robin...

"I am no coward." He stated darkly. For the first time in a long time, his back straightened. His fists closed tightly at his sides. "I am a Titan. And Ill show you just how much I'm still capable of."

"Look, Beast Boy…"

"And I'm not a boy anymore." He thought a moment and glanced at the others. Cyborg had finally looked up from his plate. He nodded to him, once. Raven's mocking smile was still dancing on her lips...but now Beast Boy was sure it was not directed at him. He smiled back at her. "I am the Changeling now."


	5. Confused

_There was a pink little worm in her happy place. It squirmed and purred at the touch of her gentle hand. She loved it. It had a name but she didn't remember what it was._

_"Starfire!"_

_She jumped and whirled around. There was no one behind her. The voice sounded familiar._

_"Starfire, can you hear me?"_

_"R-raven?"_

_Her green eyes scanned the dark tamaranean sky and the endless yellow meadow below. She even lifted a few of the giant zorka berries lying around to peek underneath. Raven was nowhere to be seen._

_"Do you know where you are?"_

_Starfire turned to look at the worm in surprise. Its eyes were glowing and a blue robe was covering its back and head. The voice was coming out of its mouth._

_"Raven?"_

_She reached out to touch it. As soon as her hand made contact with its soft skin, the creature opened its mouth and the world around them was swirled into it. Starfire screeched, fighting in vain to escape the engulfing vortex. Soon she was sucked into the worm along with the sky, meadows and zorka berries _

_Everything was dark and Starfire was alone in that nothingness with a giant dark bird, its silhouette marked by a soft white glow. She knew that bird…_

_"Where are you?" It asked. _

_"I do not know." She looked around. "Why are we here? What is happening?"_

_"Calm down. If you wake up, I'll lose you. You have to tell me what year it is."_

_"What?"_

_Starfire shivered. The darkness around her became strangely oppressive. She whirled around. There was another bird behind her and she backed away in fear. Its four eyes were ablaze in a red furious light. It reeked of hatred and violence. It screeched deafeningly and plunged towards them._

* * *

Starfire bolted upwards on her bed, her own screams of terror overriding the echo of Raven's shriek. It took her a moment to catch her breath and for the trembling to ease. As she slowly recovered her bearings, her green eyes darted to the side. A white-robed figure stood there, watching her intently. For a frightening instant, Starfire wondered what she was sharing the room with.

"I..." She jumped off the bed and scooted towards the door."…require to use the bathroom."

Raven didn't move but her unblinking eyes followed her every move. Starfire wanted to just fly out of that room, speed down through the halls as fast as she could go and hide. She was too frightened to focus and act. Her breathing slowed down. The primal terror subsided. Why was she so scared? What had just happened? She took a trembling hand to her forehead. It was covered in a thick cold sweat.

"A nightmare?" Raven offered hollowly.

Starfire glanced around the room once more. A nightmare? She didn't exactly remember.

"Then it couldn't have being so bad...or good." It made sense. She walked back towards the bed and lay down. Raven placed a cold hand on her forehead."All better now."

"I'm sleepy…"

"Then sleep."

Starfire smiled at Raven. It must have been a terrible nightmare to scare her like that but it didn't matter anymore. She was happy and safe next to a dear friend. Her eyes closed and she drifted back into peaceful slumber.

"Dude, its pure garbage."

Changeling picked a piece of what had probably been some sort of golden mask and dumped it in a box next to him.

"There's useful stuff around." Cyborg said and threw a worm-eaten puppet king inside the same box "We just gotta find it ."

"Whatever."

He threw a dusty gooey pink ball over his shoulder and into the box. He froze at the sight of another ball. It was made of sockets. Beast Boy's eyes filled with gentle melancholic tears as he reached out to pick it up. He shouldn't, he was aware of that...but then again, it was so tempting.

Unaware to him, Cyborg was dealing with the same moral dilemma, a ball of underpants on his mechanic hand.

"STANKBALL!"

They howled in unison, whirling around to face each other. Beast Boy managed to dodge the flying underpants projectile, but Cyborg received the disgusting putrefied thing squarely on the face.

"The one think you could beat me at."

"And still can..."

"We're gonna see about that."

He threw the ball at Beast Boy but once again the changeling managed to dodge out of harm's way. He sent the underwear's ball right back at his attacker.

"Joyfull garszlakgh!"

They let out startled yelps when a huge metallic box was thrown in their direction. Suddenly their lives were reduced to dodging and jumping out of the way as an intense rain of heavy objects fell upon them.

"Would you two cut it out?" Nightwing yelled, his head popping into the room from one of the many holes adorning the walls at the abandoned Tower . "You are supposed to clear the place, not bring it down on our heads."

Starfire hid the huge half rusted security box she was about to throw behind her. Her small form concealed nothing of it. Nightwing scowled but left with no further comments.

"Are ya trying...to kill us...or what?" Changeling panted, sweating like a pig and re-emerging from under a box.

"I thought it was time for the garszlagh celebration. A most joyful war of useless objects."

"Let's not play that ever again." Cyborg said, smiling widely.

"I...vote...for...that..."

They kept cleaning in silence for a while, throwing things away, setting aside stuff that could be fixed and making one joke or two every few minutes. Starfire found something peculiar in a pile of dusty books. She picked it up and removed the broken pieces of glass of the wooden frame.

"Why is this being kept on such abandonment?"

Cyborg and Changeling glanced at the object in her hands. Beast Boy's face darkened at the sight of the blond girl on the picture.

"True." He snatched the frame out of Starfire's hand. "It shouldn't be kept."

He threw the picture inside the trash-box without a second glance. Starfire tried to take it out but Cyborg caught her wrist and shook his head.

"But she was a Titan, why would you...?"

"How the hell do you know!?" Changeling whirled on her, his chubby face twisted in a mask of rage. "You weren't even here!"

"But I was…"

Changeling snarled something unintelligible and stormed out of the room. Cyborg was staring at Starfire intently. She didn't remember much about the blonde girl but she did remember they fought side by side. They had been friends and then they were not.

"Terra came to us a year after you disappeared." Cyborg stated. "How do you she was a Titan?"

"I…I don't." She said, massaging her throbbing head. The rusty walls and piles of abandoned equipment seemed to close in on her. "Please, let's finish our task quickly. I want to leave this unpleasant place."

* * *

"I am most grateful for your assistance." Starfire said as she and Raven strolled down the Mall, carrying several colorful bags. "This has indeed uplifted my cheers."

Raven smiled briefly. Starfire beamed at her.

"Should we now rest our feet and ingest creamed ice? Then we could walk some more and ingest the fast food before going to watch a movie in the theater…" Raven nodded. "Yey!"

Starfire swept Raven into a mighty hug. It was the first time they shared such a pleasant afternoon together. It was weird but also very good. It became too strange, however, when her friend actually leaned into the hug. Starfire waited for a complaint or a shove…but nothing happened. She looked at Raven.

"Is it something the cause of distress?"

"No. Nothing is causing distress."

Raven stepped back and there was the happiest smile on the usually gloomiest face. Starfire's instincts yelled all manner of warnings but what bad could come from someone's happiness? She smiled back.

The young alien watched in awe as the bunny chewed a piece of carrot, holding it near his mouth greedily between chubby paws. Next to him, a couple of hamsters exercised on their wheels. She smiled tenderly at the mean looking lizard on the fisher tank right on top of the rodent's (1) She remembered having a pet and before realizing it, her legs had took her inside the pet-shop.

"Greetings" She announced her presence to the bubbly girl minding the store. "I do wonder if you have silkies?"

"The what?"

"The silkies."

"What are the silkies?"

It was an excellent question. Her green eyes lifted to the ceiling as she strained to remember. What the heck were the silkies? She used to have one...

"A breed of chicken." Raven mumbled crossly from the door. "Can we go now?"

"Oh. No, we don't sell chickens." The store-keeper asked, not even looking up from her cell-phone.

"Come on..."

They were wrong. Starfire glanced at the animals on the store as Raven dragged her out, trying to see if she could recognize among them a silky. She didn't.

The movie had received wonderful critics of both professionals of the media and the public. Everyone entitled it as "hilarious" "outstanding comedy" and the like. Raven had stared at the screen with half lidded eyes and Starfire just enjoyed the popcorn. Once the movie was over, they shuffled out of the theater and went in search of a restaurant.

"It is not a bird."

"What?"

"The silkies..." Starfire set down her hamburger. "It is not a bird. It is other type of earthly animal. Beat Boy gave me one…"

Raven's unblinking eyes fixed on hers. She held her gaze.

"We never had pets."

"Yes we did. I did!" Her head started throbbing again but she ignored the pain. She wasn't wrong and Raven had to know she was right. Tears of frustration filled her eyes. "Robin made me get rid of him, and I had to fight to get him back. He chose to be with me! I remember!"

The headache suddenly stopped. Raven placed a gentle hand over hers.

"What species was it?"

"I..." She sniffed and stared unappetizingly at the hamburger. "I don't remember."

"Starfire?"

* * *

Nightwing walked carefully across the terrace. The structure was fragile but he supposed a crumbling floor lacked relevance to someone who could fly. It was their second and last day of cleanup on Titan's tower. They had recovered important equipment so far, but the experience was proving to be emotionally exhausting to all of them. It was just not worth it.

"Are you okay?"

Starfire, the reason he was risking his life wandering in the fragile terrace, didn't turn to look and she remained huddled at the edge of the Tower's rooftop.

"Why do I feel miss placed?"

He cringed and glanced at Jump City and its grey skies and snow covered grey buildings. It was a sad sight. It had somehow turned to resemble Goth City over the years. When it started happening or when he stopped noticing, he wasn't sure but he did remember what it used to be like.

"We all do sometimes."

Starfire didn't answer. Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears. Nightwing sat next to her. She moved to sit a little closer.

"I just feel I don't belong here anymore…that I never belonged here at all."

"Raven didn't say much about where you were…" Nightwing said. "Do you remember anything?"

"No. Yes." She closed her eyes, tears slid down her cheeks. "I can only remember that I was happy. And I just don't understand. I returned the clock, I..."

Four simple words that shattered his heart like a bullet. He felt all over again the sharp agony of seeing Starfire fly into the vortex to disappear. No emotion betrayed his features. He sat next to the girl he had loved in silence for wonderful moments before muttering what felt like the final words of a dying man.

"Let's get Cyborg…"

* * *

(1) Yeah, I know rabbits ain't no rodent but whatever…


	6. Reality sucks

"Can you figure out exactly what year Raven headed to?"

Cyborg looked up from the battery-cell he was inspecting to find Warp's device right under his nose. The looks on Nightwing and Starfire's faces were grim. He took the object and examined it carefully. A frown darkened his features.

"The setting's being changed."

It took a moment for him to realize the implications of that. Starfire winced at the heart-broken look on his face. It was fleeting. His face hardened as he set the device down on the table.

"It was too good to be truth."

"I am sorry."

Starfire whispered and reached out to touch him. Cyborg stormed out of the room before she could. Nightwing was quick behind. He grabbed his massive wrist to stop him.

"We talk to her. No yelling, no fighting..."

The big man jerked his hand free, the robotic eye ablaze.

"Dont _you_ tell me how to treat people."

And he walked away. Nightwing sighed and followed. Starfire shuffled along.

* * *

"I don't know what to tell you, Raven. I've never given Star a pet."

"Did you bring any animal to the Tower?"

Changeling sighed and dropped the box he was carrying. It was the first time in years Raven and he talked to each and it annoyed him it felt more like an interrogation than a conversation. It was better than nothing, though.

"Well…there was this really old cat, then that small puppy Mas and Menos took home. Then those cows…Oh, and that mutant worm." He smiled although there were tears on his eyes. "Do you remember Killer Mob, Rae? He forced Robin to take that brat to the prom."

Raven remembered Killer Mob and she suddenly remembered the worm Beast Boy had brought home after the mutant was dealt with. The pink thing had eaten the couch and Cyborg blasted it in a fit of rage. That incident precluded one of the most horrible arguments she remembered and one of the first that would finally push Beast Boy out of the Tower.

Changeling remembered it all too clearly. He quickly shoved the depressing thought down and picked up the box again. The future looked too promising to keep dwelling in the past. This was the last time he stepped on Titan's tower. They would move to a new place to build a new life. He would help Raven deal too.

Nightwing and Cyborg were standing at the door, looking pissed as hell. Starfire stood at their side with an uncharacteristic grim expression on her face. Beast Boy blinked a few times and glanced at Raven. Her eyes were glowing faintly. He stepped back.

"Okay…what's going on?"

"Why from the past?" Nightwing asked softly. "Why not our Starfire?"

Raven was silent for a moment. She seemed to be leveling each of them carefully.

"Because I found her dead."

Raven winced. Their pain stabbed at her like knives. She pulled her hood up- finding reassurance in its concealing shadows- and whispered her calming mantra.

"What is going on?"

Changeling insisted, looking among his friends for an answer. He stopped on Starfire. She held his gaze briefly before looking away.

"I do not belong here. This is not my home and I am not you friend." There was no anger on her words. Raven looked at her from the shadows of her concealing hood. "I am sorry."

"No..." Changeling gasped and took a hand to his chest. It felt suddenly so tight. "It's not true…"

"She was dead so you just brought somebody else?" Cyborg snarled, towering over Raven. "You really are fucked up. I should have never trusted you! I should have broken this shit the second you put it in my hand!"

The enraged Titan lifted his arm, intended on slamming Warp's device against the floor. A massive hand caught his wrist. The green gorilla that was the Changeling snatched the device off his hand and turned back to his human form.

"Yelling at her won't fix things. But this's gonna."

"He's right." Nightwing grabbed the device and faced Raven. "Just take her back where she belongs."

Raven stepped back from them. She shook her head, eyes glowing hauntingly. Nighwing's face hardened.

"It wasn't a suggestion."

"I will not be alone again."

Warp's device was swallowed by darkness. Nightwing leapt forward and kicked Raven in the chest. She grunted and fell hard against the wall. The device was freed from the influence of her powers but the price for its safe keeping was chaos.

Changeling shifted into a gorilla and shoved Nightwing back. He snarled his defiance but before Robin could retaliate, Cyborg stepped between them.

"Chill, man, what side are you on?"

"What side are _you_ on?!"

"How about the sane team?!"

Starfire gasped in terror as the whole room seemed to be swallowed in darkness. Changeling and Cyborg were too busy yelling at each other to notice. Nightwing did, however, and he whirled around to attack Raven again. From there, reality seemed to spiral into a nightmare.

Beast Boy turned into a beast of hideous proportions, all teeth, fangs and hair. It howled madly and leapt at Cyborg. Furniture and old machines exploded as Raven thrashed under Nightwing. He had managed to clamp a hand over her mouth. Starfire screamed at them to stop but nobody listened. The wolfish beast slammed Cyborg violently against the floor and slashed at his face with wicked claws. A powerful plasma blast sent him rocketing back against the far wall, Cyborg crawled back to his feet and shot again. The tower shuddered to its foundation. Nightwing howled in pain as Raven bit his smothering hand. Blood dripped from under her teeth…

"Stop. Stop! STOP!"

Cyborg stopped strangling Changeling and the green beast ceased his attempts to claw the half-human's face off with his claws. One of Raven's eyes popped out from under the hood Nightwing had pulled over her face and she stopped chewing on his hand. They stared wide-eyed at the alien standing in the middle of the room.

"It is not my absence what has destroyed the team! It is you!" They released their painful holds on each other, looking chastised. "You have forgotten about the friendship."

She waited for that to sink in and then approached Raven. She looked up. Starfire was reminded suddenly of a kicked dog.

"Please, I wish to go home now."

"But I can't be alone again."

Nightwing placed a hand on her shoulder. He was staring at the bite mark on his other hand.

"You won't be." He said. "I won't abandon you again."

Changeling shifted back from his monstrous visage and stood at Raven's side.

"You've got me too."

Cyborg sighed, rubbing his sore head.

"I'm still pissed but…hell, I haven't got so much fun in years…"

Starfire beamed at them. It was wonderful she had managed to give them hope. She looked at Raven and hoped her smile would banish the hesitation she could still see on the young woman's face.

"You have hurt each other and still forgive! It is a most important duty to fulfill to nurture and maintain a strong friendship! You do not need me here. You just need to remember how to be friends!"

Raven's dull eyes finally rose from the ground.

"You are happy. In the past."

"It is where I belong."

"And you want to go back because you are happy there."

"I am."

"Okay."

Raven smiled. Without a word, Nightwing handed her Warp's device. They stepped back to give her space. Her eyes glowed and her body lifted off the ground. Starfire glanced with a smile at the other three Titans in a silent farewell.

"Azarath, Metrion..."

Cyborg's eyes suddenly widened, he stepped forward.

"The device ain't on!" He shouted. "Shut her up!"

"…zinthos…"

Nightwing leapt at the white robed sorceress just as the last word passed her lips. A huge demonic shadow rose from her petite form, all enveloping wings spreading across the room, swallowing light and sound and filling their hearts with terror.


	7. Happy time

Starfire's eyes fluttered open. The other Titans where leaning over her, their faces showing their concern. She rubbed her sore head for a moment and accepted a helping hand to stand up.

"Starfire, are you okay?"

Robin asked, standing wonderfully close. She looked around. They were standing in the living room of Titan's tower. The walls and floor polished and gleaming white. Nothing was broken or out of place. Silky slept soundly on the couch. Joysticks lay forgotten on the floor as the giant TV displayed an abandoned video game. Her eyes filled with tears of happiness and she swept her fellow Titans in a fierce hug.

"Friends!"

"…Star, it's getting hard to breath..."

Beast Boy wheezed. Starfire released them. They fell to the floor in a heap and quickly crawled back to their feet. A strange silence stretched for a full minute before Raven finally spoke.

"This calls for a celebration."

"Hell, yeah! Who wants lots and lots of pizza!?"

"I DO!"

Beast Boy turned into an octopus and raised his all eight tentacles. The rest ran out the door and he followed fast.

* * *

"Ladies first."

Robin stated as Stone, Starfire and Beast Boy argued who would eat the last slide. When all eyes turned to her, Raven declined. Starfire smile broadly and emptied a huge jar of mustard into the slide before snatching it out of the plate with a suddenly long tongue. She chewed noisily.

"Ah wanted that last slide."

A waitress came by and dropped in their table five more pizzas.

"It's on the house." She winked at Beast Boy and hurried back inside.

Stone whoo-yad and devoured a whole pizza in one bite. Beast Boy pounced on the others. The feast soon escalated to an eating competition. Raven was grossed out and excused herself to leave the table. The grotesque display made Starfire felt a little home-sick.

"Is something wrong?"

Starfire turned to Robin. The obvious concern on his face banished her melancholia. He was one of the few people that genuinely cared for her, along with the other Titans and her K'norfka. Despite their strange customs, she was reminded with that simple gesture that these earthlings were her family and Earth her real home.

"No, my friend." She said with the brightest smile. "There is nothing wrong."

"Where were you?"

It took her a moment to understand what he was talking about.

"I was…lost. But I found my way back."

"I'm glad you did."

He hesitated but finally took her hand under the table. She blushed and a warm feeling spread through her chest. She squeezed his hand back. Despite all the noise and the crowd, they felt like it was only them in the whole world.

* * *

Beast Boy strolled down the street, smiling at the waving people all around him. Every now and then, a child would ask an autograph, a group of teenagers would cheer for him as he passed them by. His chest swallowed with pride at each display of love and admiration. He was the guardian- one of them anyway- of this city. Jump City was a safe happy place thanks to him. And the ladies just went nuts for the green dude.

He stopped at the entrance of Jump City's High School and waited. A minute later, a bell rang and students poured out from huge crystal doors. Among them, Beast Boy saw who he had come for. He turned into a giraffe so she could see him in the crowd.

"Hey, you." Terra greeted him, kicking gently his hooved feet. "Missed me?"

"Kinda." He shifted back to his human form and offered her his arm. "So, how about a romantic dinner?"

She snorted and crushed him in a hug.

"How about some burgers at the fair?"

"Veggie burgers?"

Her laughter was music to his ears.

* * *

His muscles were sored, his lungs were burning. The man in front of his seemed impossible to reach but Victor Stone kept running. Limits did not exist unless he allowed it. He pushed himself harder and before long, he was running ahead of everyone else.

The cheer of the public was deafening and he raised his arms in triumph. He drank in the public's exaltation and wild cheers, his heart racing, pounding on his ears, his muscles hot and powerful, sweat running down his burning skin...

Sometimes, life was just wonderful.

* * *

"Is there something the cause of distress?"

Starfire asked. They had been sitting on Titan's Tower's terrace alone for hours now, only the moon and the stars witness of the gentle love they shared. She felt at peace, but Robin had worn a troubled look for some time now.

"No, I just...I don't know. I feel weird."

"You are not weird. You meet earthling's size and weight regular standards."

"No, I mean...I feel...younger."

"Oh. Like…a child? "

"Yeah." He frowned. "Weird, huh?"

They stared at the perfect clear sky in silence for long minutes.

* * *

"So, it's official?"

Beast Boy beamed and slid an arm over Terra's shoulder to squeeze her against him.

"Sure is! How about you two? When's the weeding?"

Robin and Starfire glanced briefly at their tangled hands. It seemed all they did lately was holding hands and hug each other. It wasn't an unpleasant new habit…

"It seems only two of our friends remain unpaired."

"Hey! I don't need no pairing up." Stone snarled, slamming the huge turkey leg on his massive hand against the table. "I've got my whole career ahead of me. I just got the first prize at the latest American's 50 Miles Marathon!"

He removed from under the table the gleaming prize. The others gaped at it in awe. Stone didn't let his prize save Raven from the uncomfortable conversation, however and he pulled down the hood of her purple robe.

"How about you? Any lucky man's caught your eye?"

"Mmmm, how about you?" She purred, suddenly grabbing his arm and huddling closer. "I'm sure the sex's great."

Stone went all shades of red. After a stunned silence, Terra burst out laughing. The others soon joined.

* * *

Beast Boy jumped over the couch to sit next to Robin. He grabbed a joystick and nudged him on the ribs but before he could voice his invitation to play, he noticed the weird expression on the team leader's face.

"Dude, what's up? You look…constipated."

"Don't you feel a little strange?" Robin asked, ignoring the jab. "Like there is something...amiss?"

"No. Why?"

"I feel something's wrong."

Beast Boy made a face. Just then the door opened and Raven walked in, her purple robe waving softly as she moved. She hopped over the couch and sat between them.

"So when's the wedding?" She beamed at Robin.

"What?"

"I think it's so romantic!"

"Yeah!" Beast Boy added. "And about time!"

Robin blushed.

"Aren't we a little young for that?"

"Dude, are you insane? If you wait more you'll get bald!"

"We're always ready!" Raven sighed, looking lovingly at the ceiling, her clasped hands resting at her chin. "After the weeding, you'll go to your honey moon. Where will you take her? Germany is beautiful!"

"But I didn't. I mean-we won't."

"Good luck, dude."

Beast Boy patted his shoulder and walked away, still grinning. Terra would be out of school in a few hours and things were relatively calm. He still had to catch one or two delinquents on his daily patrols, but it was no trouble for him.

"Stone?"

The garage was empty and the T-Car was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and walked to Starfire's room. It was empty as well. He hated to be alone but the conversation between Robin and Raven made him uncomfortable. Notions of marriage unnerved him. As he walked through the empty corridors of Titan's Tower, however, the need to talk to someone grew stronger. Solitude frightened and saddened him and he wasn't sure why. He hurried towards the living room.

"Hey there, BB. What's up?"

He jumped, startled out of his guts by Raven's sudden cheerful call. He turned and found her smiling at him from the other side of the corridor.

"Uh, hey! I—so you managed to convince Robin?"

"Sure! So, you wanna hang?"

"Yeah! Whatcha wanna do?"

* * *

"Come on, big guy, come on!"

Stone ran down the street, following Raven as she flew in front of him. Every now and then she would reduce the speed so he could catch up. Then she would laugh mockingly before speeding it up again and leaving him behind. Stone didn't mind though. He was going to win her in a race fly vs. running one day. With training, he would make it.

"I've seeing pigs move faster!" She mocked, flying backwards for further insult.

His glare turned into a wide smile. Raven frowned and turned in time to receive a tree in the face. She slammed so hard against it that it lost most of its leaves. Stone ran passed her, laughing mockingly.

Raven cradled her sored nose, groaning. Failure was a bitter pill to swallow. A stout hand reached down to her. She took it gratefully and Stone hauled her back to her feet.

"Come on. We start again from here."

She smiled proudly at him. A minute later, she was flying through the park with Stone running behind.

* * *

"I love bunnies!"

Raven clapped her hands together excitedly and hugged the green rabbit sitting on her bed. Beast Boy turned into human form, trying to discourage the pink robed girl from squeezing him so tight. She glanced once at him to acknowledge the change and squeezed harder.

"I love BBs!"

"Agh!"

"I want a hug too!"

Beast Boy squealed and turned into a fly to escape. Raven and Starfire trapped each other and squeezed tight. It took them a moment to realize nothing was between them. They blushed, grinned and tightened their hold. The green boy seriously considered flying out of the room. It was a little hard to take them both lately, like attempting to eat chocolate, ice-cream and milk-shakes at the same time. It was strange, but he didn't remember ever having this problem befor. They had always seemed to balance each other out so perfectly…

"I am most content!" Starfire declared. "I do not remember us having so much time of such good quality before!"

"Yeah, me neither." Beast Boy shifted into human form and eyed Raven warily. "And not in this room, anyway."

"Hey, first time for everything! You know what other animals I like? Birds!"

Starfire clapped her hands excitedly.

"Then you should see the flying scrubgags of my home-planet! Each of them resembles a flock of earthly pigeons!"

"This one's a favorite of the ladies."

Beast Boy turned into a peacock and spread his tail feathers to reveal their complex design.

"That's not a favorite!" Raven laughed. "It's every women's boyfriend!"

"Every men's girfriend."

Beast Boy countered, shifting into a parrot. They roared in laughter. Starfire frowned in thought, trying to understand the joke. Encouraged by the good mood, Beast Boy took Raven's covers and pulled them over himself.

"Hey, guess who I am!"

He turned into a grumpy looking raven, his dark green beak poking from under the blue blanket.

"Oh no!" Raven fell backwards, laughing hysterically. "I can't believe you got it wrong! You look so weird!"

The green raven glared at her.

"What do you mean I got it wrong?" He shifted back to human and poked his chest proudly. "I don't get animals wrong."

"Oh, but you did! Ravens have four eyes!" Raven wheezed out. "Not two!"

"They do?" Starfire asked. She had thought one of the characteristics of earth animals with spinal cord was having two eyes.

"Uh, no they don't!?" Raven howled with laughter. Suddenly, she stopped. Her eyes widen and she covered her mouth with crisped hands. "They do!"

Starfire and Beast Boy straightened in the bed. Raven's robe turned from a bright pink to dull grey. All traces of a smile were gone from Raven's face. Her eyes were wide in trepidation.

"I messed up…."

Starfire and Beast Boy felt a sudden dread. They were not sure why but their instincts kept yelling at them to jump away from Raven and ran for the others. It was an irrational urge that quickly faded. They forgot what they had been arguing about. It lost meaning. All they cared about was the fact there was no more pizza.

"Yo, man, you spaced out!" Stone nudged Beast Boy as he waved for a waitress. "Told ya not eating meat would mess you up."

"Oh, yeah?! We'll see how well your arteries are doing in a few years!"

"Uhhh, arteries!" Terra gasped. "Heavy!"

Robin, Terra, Raven and Stone laughed at that. Beast Boy and Starfire joined in tentatively.

* * *

They sat together on the couch, staring at the blank TV screen in silence.

"So...what are we gonna do today?" Terra asked as she hugged Beast Boy's arm and leaned on his shoulder.

"Hum...I don't know. We kinda did everything there was to do."

"All there was to do in here. Maybe we should travel somewhere. Mexico! We should go to Mexico!"

They all turned from the TV to stare at her.

"What?"

"I always wanted to visit Mexico." Beast Boy stated dully.

"Alright, then! Let's get packing!"

"Okay…"

They rose from the couch and left the room. The others continued to stare at the TV for a while. Then Starfire and Stone turned to look at Robin. He blinked a few times before answering to their unspoken questions.

"I'm okay with it."

He said. They turned back to stare blankly at the TV.

* * *

"Wow! Can't believe you did it!" Raven wheezed, catching up to Stone.

He glared at her.

"Did y'll let me win?"

"Why would I do something like that?"

His eyes narrowed.

"I'm not sure."

"Wanna swim? I bet I can kick yer butt on that!"

"Yeah. I'm not sure you _would_."

He threw the sweat-drenched towel covering his head at her face.

* * *

Robin stared at the Minister as he finally asked:

"...accept Koriand'r in sacred matrimony?"

"I-I do."

"You may now kiss the bride."

Starfire's smile was somewhat strained. Robin didn't even bother to fake it. He was happy. He loved Starfire and he felt it wasn't such a bad idea to form a couple with a fellow super-hero. But something was wrong.

"Should we kiss?" Starfire asked in a small voice.

"I would like to…" He said.

And they kissed. He knew nothing was wrong with that.

* * *

Stone sighed as the final level of the last video game on his collection was completed with a perfect score. It was getting tedious to obtain victory at everything. He dropped the joystick and shuffled towards the fridge. It was stuffed with meat. He was sick of it. He searched about for some ice cream. It was also filled with it. With a sigh, he picked one up and dragged himself back to the couch.

Raven was sitting there, looking concerned.

"Why are you unhappy?"

"I'm not unhappy, I'm just…don't you feel like there's something's wrong?"

"Hum, no…"

"I just feel this weight on my chest and I wonder why I feel it, if we have always being this happy."

The door slid opened before Raven could answer. Robin and Starfire walked inside, holding hands. A moment later, Terra and Beast Boy walked in. There was a huge Mexican hat on his head and Terra was holding a maraca in each hand.

"¡Hola, amigos! ¡Hemos vuelto de la tierra de los burritos!"

Terra's excitement wasn't very catching. Raven reacted with hostility.

"Are there sticks up your asses?" She snapped. "You are awesome at everything, you two are married and you went to Mexico! Why the hell are you unhappy!?"

By the time she was finished, the color of her robe had changed from grey to a bright orange and then to a dark red. Suddenly it grew lighter and pink robed Raven smiled excitedly.

"How about we all go for a picnic!"

They all glanced at each other.

"Hum, sure."

"Yeeey!"

She darted out of the room with Terra close in her heels. Robin dashed for the door controls and typed a security code. The door closed and locked.

"Okay, something's wrong here." He whispered urgently to the others. "Very wrong and I know Raven's involved."

"Dudes, he's totally right." Beast Boy seconded. "I don't remember her being this happy. **Ever**."

"Things are just going so great. We are all happy." Stone shrugged and then he scowled. "Something's wrong here. Very wrong."

There was a knock on the door and they all jumped startled.

"Hey, Beast Boy, you okay in there?"

"Phew…" The green boy sighed. "It's just Terra, let her in!"

"Uh…something's wrong with the door!" Stone said. "Hung on!"

"But..."

They huddled in a circle.

"Something's wrong with her too." Stone whispered.

"He's right." Robin agreed.

Beast Boy frowned.

"What's wrong with Terra?"

"Think, Beast Boy. When did she come to us? Why? How?"

The changeling strained to remember. He knew the answer to those questions but everything felt so distant as if it had all happened a life time ago. And they were connected to something else, something painful…

"Is this an orgy?" They all screeched and jumped back, startled out of their pants when Raven popped into their mist. She seemed startled by their reaction. "What? Like the thought never occurred to you..."

"Raven…" Robin said grimly. "I want answers and I want them now."

"About what?"

"Friend, please be truthful with us." Starfire said, floating a few inches above the floor. "Are you and Terra involved in something strange?"

"We are not a couple, if that's what you mean."

"No." Stone grumbled. "Are you doing something weird with our heads 'r something?"

"Wha-what do you mean?"

The purple color of her robe changed slightly. Robin's eyes narrowed. He struggled to ignore a raising headache.

"Your robe. It didn't do that before. It never—It never did that before."

"Is everyone here very stoned?"

"Your robe changes color." Stone stated. "That stuff's new. That isn't normal. I…" His eyes narrowed. There was something about the orange robe… "I know you…"

"Of course you do, scrap metal. We've being fighting together for years now!"

Stone's heart skipped a beat. He could feel the blood draining from his face.

"Why would you call me that? Why would you called me that?!"

Stone staggered back. His legs and arms felt suddenly so strange. They felt light dead weight, pulling him down. The color melted from the world and all he could see with his left eye was a bizarre red mass of blurry silhouettes. He couldn't feel half of his body. He felt suddenly exhausted.

"I—I need to get outta here…"

Raven moaned and followed him as he stumbled for the door, her grey robe waving gently as she moved.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. Cyborg, please..."

Stone fell to his knees and he screamed.

Robin snarled, enraged, and grabbed Raven by the collar of her robe. She let out a strangled yelp and cried out as he slammed her against the wall. The Tower suddenly banished. They found themselves in a dark desert where only a reddish sickening light glowed. The lies disappeared and the nightmare that was their lives was suddenly all too real once again.

Cyborg howled in rage and pain, horrified at the sight of his robotic limbs. He could feel again the metal biting the flesh and its dead weight pulling him down. He wept alone like a heart-broken child.

Changeling could only stare at the empty space ahead. Terra had come to them to betray them. She had stolen his heart and then crushed it. She had tried to kill him. She had died like a hero and left him alone to mourn in loneliness for two decades. He finally turned to face the grey robed figure trembling in Nightwing's grip. He was behind anger, behind pain. He could only stare at her.

"Why did you do this?" He half moaned. "How could you...?"

"Take us out of here." Nightwing growled between clenched teeth. Raven whimpered.

"Robin..." Starfire said in a trembling voice.

"Now!"


	8. Damn it, Raven!

Raven moaned pitifully as Nigthwing tightened his hold. He was strangling her. She had never seen him so angry before. Not with her…

"Yo, Fathead! Pick on someone yer own guts!"

Nightwing turned sharply. He saw a flash of green before the sole of a boot slammed into his face. He staggered back. Starfire's eyes blazed and she fired a starbolt at the attacker. The green robed Raven jumped back. They held each other's gaze.

"I have given you all you wanted." A yellow-robed Raven appeared behind them. "Why do you reject it?"

"Because they are all lies!" Starfire snarled, her hands blazing with green fire. "This is not my world and you are not my friend!"

Nightwing straightened and faced the two Ravens. Brave and Wisdom turned to Changeling. His weary eyes were angry and he moved to stand with the other Titans. Timid crawled towards her kin, whimpering and sobbing.

"You will take us back to our world." Starfire continued. "Or we will fight you."

Brave grinned and opened her arms in invitation.

"Bring it on."

Starfire attacked, firing starbolts as fast as she could. Brave managed to dodge the attacks. Nightwing charged Wisdom. She dodged but made no move to counter.

"I am not a fighter." She said. "This is hardly fair."

Nightwing bared his teeth. His hand flew forward and caught her by the neck of the robe. He yanked her within inches of his face.

"Send us back. It is the last time I ask nicely."

"I do not have the power for that. Only she does and some of the others do not want you to leave."

Nightwing glanced to where Wisdom was pointing and saw several Ravens gathered there, each of them wearing robes of different colors. It looked like a flower garden. Wisdom was engulfed in dark energy and he greeted his teeth in frustration as she teleported out of his grasp.

Brave landed gracefully and prepared herself to dodge the next starbolt. It never came. Starfire had stopped to catch her breath. The emoticlone smirked in triumph. A heavy hand perched on her head. Iron fingers closed tightly around her skull and whirled her around. The mouth of a charged up plasma-cannon was right on her face.

"I hope this hurts."

Cyborg fired. The blast sent Brave flying several feet away. Her screech of pain echoed as thunder in the reddening sky and the stony ground under their feet shuddered. Her smocking body hit the floor, her form darkened and she slid to a stop on the stone as an unconscious black bird.

"You fucking bitch!"

"Eeeeek!"

Rude jumped onto Starfire's back, her eyes glowing. She pulled sharply at her long red hair. The alien screeched and tried to swing her off of her. Cyborg, panting and exhausted, raised his canon to shot again. In their struggle it was risky. He could hurt Starfire. His cannon turned back into a human arm and he ran to them.

"We have the right to be upset!" Nightwing snarled to the flock of Ravens standing on the side. They flinched back. He struggled to reign in his temper. "Okay. You made a mistake. We all had. Do what's right now and take us back."

"We should take them back." Timid whimpered. "He hit me. He will do it again."

"But we love them!" Love said.

"And we made them happy." Happy pointed out.

"It was wrong." Wisdom stated. "We should take them back. Besides, he is serious. They can beat us up."

"He deserves to die!"

Nightwing whirled around to meet the charge of a red robed Raven. She snarled at him, baring sharp teeth, her four eyes blazing like fire. He struggled to keep those clawed hands away from his neck. He dropped to the floor and placed his feet on Rage's stomach and used her own momentum to throw her back. She disappeared in darkness before touching the ground and reappeared right on top of him. Nightwing screamed in pain as her razor-sharp teeth embedded into his shoulder.

"Get off me, scraps!"

"Ow!"

Cyborg was trying to get Rude off of Starfire, but the emoti-clone refused to let go of the girl's hair. He felt stupid and his patience was wearing off. They heard Nightwing's scream and saw him struggling with the hissing beast that was Rage. He turned to Changeling and screamed at him to move. The green man glanced at him as if in shock.

"Friend, please, help Robin!" Starfire added to the urgent call.

And Changeling obeyed. He charged towards Rage but before he could get close enough she saw him. The rabid creature picked Nightwing's trembling body and threw him violently against him. Beast Boy grunted for the impact. They fell in a heap on the rocky ground.

Changeling whimpered and crawled out from under Nightwing. He saw Raven advancing on them, her four eyes blazing with hatred, her mouth twisted in a diabolical grin, inhuman sounds filtering through her sharp blood-stained teeth. He started trembling and sweating, hunting memories of painful encounters with a similar beast flooding his mind. His heart raced, his body refused to obey frantic commands.

A scream of pain thundered in the sky. The emoti-clones stared as Happy withered in agony among them. She screamed again, clawing at her face as her body shrank and twisted. The pink robe turned black, feet twisted into scaled claws, fingers shifted into feathers. Her next scream was the cry of a raven. Sloth approached the trembling bird that had been Happy and cradled her tenderly.

Cyborg saw Changeling shifting frantically into different small animals to escape the brutal attacks of the red Raven. Losing his patience, he snatched Rude off of Starfire's back. The alien shriek but the stinging pain of ripped hair was a reasonable price for freedom. She flew like a comet towards the battling Titans.

"Oh, no you don't."

Cyborg growled as dark energy started swallowing his legs. He whirled around and slammed Rude against the floor. She cried out in pain, bouncing once off the stony ground and falling limply a few feet away as an unconscious raven.

Red Raven howled hideously, her body growing slightly bigger and bulkier. Her long claw-like fingers grew sharper. The small rodent that was Changeling whimpered at her feet. She grinned. A rain of stinging starbolts hit her on the side and the demon-like creature was forced to stagger away from her prey. Shadows engulfed her and she disappeared. Starfire gasped and halted her charge.

Changeling shifted back to human form and knelt next to the injured Nightwing. Cyborg was soon by their side, his plasma-canon ready to fire. They pointed at Wisdom as she broke away from the whispering flock of emoti-clones huddled to the side. She ignored the hostility and picked up the ravens that had been Rude and Brave and hurried back to the others. Starfire moved to intercept her. A blinding pain spread across her back and she fell from the sky.

Cyborg cursed as Rage appeared right behind Starfire and unleashed a savage attack. Her claws ripped across the alien's back, drawing blood. She seemed ready to bite her but he never gave her the chance. The plasma-blast impacted right on her face. Red Raven howled in pain, lightening burning through the sky, the ground under their feet shuddering.

"Damn it!" Cyborg shouted, helping Nightwing to his feet. "That thing's getting bigger!"

"It's her anger…" Nightwing moaned. "The more we fight her, the angrier she gets, the bigger that thing grows…"

"Great! What do we do?"

Rage howled madly and grabbed the fallen Starfire by the leg. She threw her savagely towards the other Titans. Changeling shifted into a gorilla and caught his injured friend in gentle paws. Cyborg aimed and shot again, trying to slow the beast's charge. He moaned, the glowing light of his armored body flickering. The plasma blast was suddenly interrupted. He fell to his knees.

"Damn it….I ain't got nothing more…"

"We've got to convince the others." Nightwing said, ignoring the pain of his injured shoulder. "We cannot defeat Raven. Not here."

"I don't think she's gonna let us…"

As if knowing they were referring to her, Rage let out another blood-curling howl and charged against them.

"We will distract her. Changeling, talk with others! Convince them to get us out of here! Titans, Go!"

Nightwing and Cyborg ran to meet the demonic creature's charge as Starfire reclaimed the skies. Changeling turned into a mouse and ran to the flock of emoti-clones.

A rain of starbolts fell from the sky on Rage's back, but they were an unimportant distraction. Her four eyes narrowed, struggling to see passed the blinding green light. She focused on Cyborg, the weak link. He gasped as his body was swallowed by shadows. A snap of Raven's fingers and his arms and legs were dislodged from his body.

Nightwing sent a barrel of explosive disks to the creature's face. Rage disappeared into the floor before they hit. She re-emerged behind him. The leader of the Titan whirled around barreling the air with a raised leg, but the blood-loss and pain had slowed him down critically. Raven caught his leg and pulled sharply. Nightwing grunted, losing his footing and hitting the floor with his head. Starfire flew towards them, her eyes blazing. Rage whirled Nightwing's limp form and sent it rocketing towards her. The young alien tried to halt her charge, but it was too late. They slammed into each other and plunged down from the sky.

Rage turned. Her eyes glowed and a small green creature was lifted from the floor. It shifted into a startled bald man. Changeling was pulled by an invisible force towards the hissing demon. He screamed, her sharp teeth and raised claw striking terror into his heart.

A green light exploded right on Rage's face. She screeched and stumbled back, losing her hold on Changeling. Starfire, exhausted and sore, pressed on the attack, trying to ignore the growing height of her quarrel, aiming at the most sensitive spots she could reach. Howls of pain were her reward. Her efforts brought her too close to danger. Rage lashed out, hitting Starfire . The alien plummeted to the ground, sliding painfully across the stony ground, coming to a stop next to a trembling Changeling. Blazing eyes narrowed, spittle dripping from her snarling mouth, Rage advanced on them…

"Enough!"

One of the other Ravens broke from the flock and stood protectively in front of Starfire and Changeling. She faced, unafraid, the hissing beast that was her kin.

"Get out of the way!"

Rage's voice was not like the others. It didn't sound human. It was painful to hear. It filled their hearts with trepidation and fear.

"No." Love said. "I want them alive and well."

"Why? They don't care if she lives or dies. They abandoned her! They hate her!"

Love winced as if those words caused her pain. She turned to glance at the Titans. They looked hurt and exhausted. She could see their pain and anger. She looked at the others for advice. Rude and Brave were slowly recovering their human forms, aided by Wisdom. Happy was a messy bag of feathers on Sloth's arms. Only Timid stepped from the flock to aid her.

"We are alone!" She supplied pitifully. "Just like before. Just like always…"

Love whimpered, clutching a hand to her chest. A paralyzing pain spread through her body. Rage lashed out. Her claws ripped muscles and crashed her ribs. Love wailed in agony and toppled backwards. The floor shuddered violently, sending the Titans reeling back. Thunder and lightning tore the skies, blinding, deafening…

Rage threw aside the black raven that had been Love. Her body grew, shifted and changed. Her human legs grew fur and her feet shifted into hooves. Horns erupted from her head; her short hair grew long and white. Her skin turned the color of blood. The dim red light that illuminated the gloomy world grew darker and the demon that was Trigon straightened with one last furious howl.

Wisdom picked up the trembling raven and contemplated the transformation of Rage. Brave had not recovered from Cyborg's brutal attack and none of the others had the power to face the beast. She sighed and glanced sadly at the Titans. There was no need to watch. She herded the others away without looking back.

Rage grinned and raised one of her hooved feet. Starfire was the cause of all their pain. She was the reason behind the constant betrayal and loneliness. She wanted her dead. Her four eyes were fixed on the fallen alien as she brought her massive foot down.

It was caught by a stout furry claw. Rage's eyes widened as the whimpering fat man at her feet shifted and changed into a huge beast. It howled madly, and shoved her foot back, making her fall. The wolf-like monster pounced on her and lashed savagely at her face. She howled in pain. The strange deserted land cracked, chunks of earth fell into the abysm where it floated. The darkness of the sky gave way to open spaces of glowing red.

Nightwing dragged himself towards Starfire and helped her back to her knees. She robbed her sore head and flew them quickly out of them way as giant hooves and paws stomped the ground where they had sat. She landed next to the dislodged Cyborg. Nightwing winced when she set him down but bared the pain of his numerous wounds in silence.

"We must assist!" Starfire said, her eyes fixed on the brutal fight.

"How?!" Cyborg wheezed as Nightwing reconnected his arms. "I can't fight and you two don't look like you can take much more either!"

"Cyborg's right." Nightwing said. "We cannot win in a direct confrontation. The harder we hit, the bigger it gets. We must find the others."

"And what?! We talk to them!? They ain't people. They're chunks of a person!" Cyborg wobbled back to his feet. He moaned as the eerie blue light of his body flickered and died out. "Damn…I have not recharged since that wacko dragged us here. I'll go down soon. I-I can't believe this's how I'm gonna end…"

"You are not. This is not over. As long as we're breathing, nothing is over. We have faced the impossible before...as a team. And we will do it again."

Changeling glanced at them one last time before slashing at the demon's face, tearing a howl of agony from its throat. The other Titans ran in the direction the other emoticlones had left.

* * *

"Ow. Ow! I said 'ow', you idiot!"

"Heal yourself then!"

Brave slapped Rude sharply on the back of the head and limped away from her, dropping the wet rag she had been using to clean her wounds. Sloth picked it up and handed it to the weeping Timid so she could blow her nose. The ground trembled again and the sky blazed like fire. Wisdom turned briefly from the shivering ravens she was tending.

"We are dying." She stated.

"No." Brave wheezed as she slumped to the ground. "Rage can't lose."

"She may. Her mind is erratic. You know that."

"Let her lose!" Timid wailed. "It's all over!"

Brave cried out in pain and took a crisped hand to her chest.

"This is wrong." Wisdom noted.

* * *

Around them, dead looking trees housed dark birds. Their burning eyes were fixed on them. Their grunts and calls the only noise they could hear. Lightening sizzled across the sky and the ground beat at their feet like the chest of a dying beast.

Cyborg had to stop to catch his breath. The stored energy had gone dangerously low. It was a matter of time before his systems shut down.

"Go without me." He panted. "I can't help."

"You can and you will." Nightwing said.

"No. I can't. My power cell's drained."

"We will be back for you."

"Yeah."

They missed the dead-look on his face as they turned and continued their frantic search for the emoti-clones. Starfire grabbed Nightwing's arms and they both rocketed through the dark skies.

"I still do not know where we are or how we will leave." She said, frightened by the monotone landscape.

"We are in Raven's mind, Star. She dragged us here."

"So I would not leave…"

"She gave us all we ever wanted." He stated softly. "In her own strange way, she was just trying to make us happy."

"I do not understand how it could all come to this. I wish to go back to my own time. I will not let this be our future."

"I know you won't."

* * *

The pink trees were losing their leaves and the yellowish grass had dried out. They could only hear the whimpers and sobs of a grey-clad figure sitting in a rock. Two sickly looking ravens were perched on her shoulders.

Brave was lying motionless on the ground, her breathing shallow and uneven. Her legs were slim and scaly with four fingered claws. The bright color of her robe was almost black and her fingers were distorted, resembling somehow feathers. The purple eyes were bleary and dull.

Nigthwing and Starfire stopped at the center of the circle. Rude glared at them. Sloth didn't look up, offering Timid her robe so she could blow her nose again.

"Where is Raven?" Nightwing asked.

"We are Raven." Wisdom said.

"You are pieces of her."

"And pieces is all there is."

"Stop hiding!" Nightwing screamed his eyes scanning the sky and the shadows."We don't want to fight. Just talk to us!"

"We do not hide." Wisdom stated. "This is what we are."

"Then you must listen to us." Starfire said, her hands clasped tightly together in front of her chest. "This madness must be stopped."

"Yes. But it cannot be stopped."

"You can stop it." Nightwing walked closer to her and Wisdom backed away. Brave struggled weakly to raise, her eyes glowing faintly. He stopped. "This is you. All of this is you."

"I can't stop it." Wisdom said. "I can simply not aid in the destruction. Anger and sadness is killing us. We don't have control over them."

Nightwing stared at her. There was a pitiful moan behind them and they turned to look. Brave had turned once again into a raven and it lay sprawled in the dirt.

"Rightfulness and will is no longer part of anything." Wisdowm said. "Changeling is in danger, more now than before. Use your mind, Nightwing and you will prevail. You do not need us to free you. Just use the portal at the end of the way."

"What about you?" Starfire asked. "What will become of you once we succeed?"

"I don't know."

"Please, tell us what we can do to help."

"You can do nothing. It is too late for us."

The trees disappeared, the grass died and all there was left was the dusty land. A blood-curling howl was heard and the sky seemed to bleed at the echo of its horrific sound. Starfire shuddered and Nighwing placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Salty tears glided down her cheeks.

"I give up on you all once." Nightwing said. "I won't make the same mistake again. We will subdue Trigon and then we're coming back for you."

They turned and walked away.

"You won't be able to defeat her." Timid moaned, finally lifting her face from her wet hands. "Please. Just leave."

"You said the same about your father." Nightwing said. "You said he could not be defeated but he was. You destroyed him."

"You helped me."

"Yes. And I will help you now. I won't abandon you again, Raven." He exchanged a warm smile with Starfire. "We are friendss."

Rude made gagging noises but Timid stood and sniffed, wiping away lingering tears. Wisdom regarded her for a moment and nodded. She offered her hand to the raven that had been Brave. The bird climbed to her hand and squawked defiantly.

"Let's reign in the anger, then."

* * *

Cyborg fell to his knees, cursing under his breath. He had found the portal. It stood a few feet away. It could have been miles away. His body could no longer move. It was a matter of minutes before it shot down completely.

A horrible screech reverberated through the deserted land. The ground shuddered and cracked. The sky grew darker. Cyborg raised his left arm grimly and opened a panel. His brain was not human. It was a machine. All that made him human was simply programming. He no longer needed to sleep. He no longer needed food. He no longer needed emotions…

One by one, Cyborg deprogrammed everything that made him act as a human. The energy storage rose considerably. He stood and marched towards the portal.


	9. Sored, sad and broken

The sounds of battle grew louder. They could see the beasts ahead, slashing with their claws at each other's trembling flesh, biting, snarling and howling with mindless ferocity. The raven at Wisdom's shoulder cried angrily as they stopped again. Nightwing slumped down on his knees, weak from the blood loss and the pain of his wounds.

"I must assist Beast Boy." Starfire said, leaving Nightwing's side, her eyes ablaze at the prospect of battle. "Please, guard Robin."

"No. Let us handle the anger." Wisdom said. "You will lose."

"Then go!" Nightwing said between clenched teeth.

The raven at Wisdom's shoulder screeched with fury and flew to the battling beasts. Wisdom glanced at the other emoti-clones.

"Take them to the portal. They will be of no use here."

"No." Nightwing struggled to his feet. "We...won't leave without Changeling and Cyborg."

"Or without knowing the out-come of this battle."

Wisdom removed her glasses and placed them in some hiding pocket on the inside of her robe. She walked after the raven.

"I can't tolerate stubbornness. Do as you may."

When he was young, fighting had been an essential part of his life. Disrupting the plans of evil people made him feel worthy. It made him feel he mattered to the world. Time passed and the evilness of the world overwhelmed him. Alone and angry, he had fought to keep Jump City a safe happy place and he had failed. In time, he had stopped trying. He had come to fear confrontation. The possibility of humiliating defeat sickened him physically.

It was like fighting the raging waves of the sea. His most powerful form was being pummeled by Raven's primal rage. The pain was unbearable. His heart seemed ready to jump out of his throat. He knew one mistake would mean death. It was amazing what love could push someone to do. Despite the pain and fear, he felt fulfilled. He was going to die for the sake of his friends. He would go down as a hero. He would go down like Terra.

His clawed hand ripped across Trigon's chest. The creature did not scream. It hit right back. His vision went white and his muzzle hit the ground. He heard-as if from a great distance-the voices of Starfire and Nigthwing. Trigon howled. Only lingering regrets accompanied his mind to darkness.

Trigon grinned as the disgusting beast that hurt him shrank and turned into a small, bleeding, defeated human. Changeling had betrayed him. He had insulted him. He had treated him with contempt. He was going to die for that. He raised his leg and prepared to squash Changeling's green bald head with a monstrous hoof.

The distant calls of a raven grew closer. They changed in pitch and tone. Rage's pointed ears perked up as a fierce battle-cry suddenly thundered in the sky. He turned and received Brave's foot right between the eyes. Trigon staggered back and fixed blazing eyes on this new opponent. Brave smirked impudently and pointed at something in the distance.

"You should watch your back."

Rage turned. Starfire snarled and fired. The demon howled in agony as starbolts stabbed two of his four eyes. The tamaranean warrior swooped in a low arc to snatch Changeling's body away from the stomping hooves. Brave waved at her in salute. The distraction cost her. A massive talon snatched her off the sky. Rage- ignoring the searing pain- opened his blazing eyes. He fixed them on his kin, ready to use the power behind them to incinerate her.

"Do not do that. Let her go."

Wisdom's voice was leveled and calm but it made Trigon moan plaintively. She held his burning gaze. The demon shuddered and cringed. His claws slowly opened. Brave unleashed a brutal reprisal. Rage howled with each blow- his form shrinking- demonic features disappearing. He wanted to fight back, but Wisdom's will was smothering his.

Starfire laid Changeling on the ground next to Nightwing. His costume was completely shredded, his flesh covered in cuts, the green of his skin almost lost to the dark red of his blood. The broad chest barely moved as he struggled for each breath.

"Azar…"

Timid whimpered. The red stars covering the sky flickered and died one by one. The earth cracked and pieces of loosened rock fell into the abysm.

"Don't!" Nightwing snarled. "Raven, you can heal him. He is alive. Come here and heal him. It'll be alright."

"I can't heal. I just hurt." Timid moaned. "I always hurt."

He glanced at the others. Sloth was scratching her butt, oblivious to the developing apocalypse around them.

"Well, I can't either!" Rude snapped defensibly when his eyes fell on her. "Can you, Useless Wonder?"

"They can." Timid pointed at the sickly looking ravens perched on Rude.

Starfire rose and floated towards the birds. They opened their burning eyes and stared at her.

"If you can heal him then I beg of you to do so." She grabbed the birds lovingly and placed them on Changeling's chest. The animals did not move. Starfire's lower lip quivered and she fell to her knees. "Please, friend, please..."

The ravens blinked and from their dark talons waved a soft blue glow that ran over Changelin's body. Cuts and scratches closed and healed. Blood stopped flowing. Nightwing and Starfire smiled.

A shadow walked the Titan's corridors. Its steps resounded hollowly in the empty building. It was dark, but he no longer needed light to see. He reached the basement where they had confronted Raven. She sat against the wall, her unblinking eyes glowing hauntingly. Her head rose slightly from the floor. Their eyes met. Cyborg walked to her and grabbed her hand. He forced her fingers opened to free Warp's device. He took it with him as walked out of the room without a word.

"No!"

Timid screamed and fell to her knees in anguished tears. A long plaintive wail escaped one of the raven's beaks and she collapsed on Changeling's stomach. The other squawked angrily and flew away. The healing waves were gone.

"What is happening? Do not stop! Please, do not stop!" Starfire pleaded, grabbing the raven and shaking her violently. "Awaken! Raven!"

The animal's head lolled loosely, her beak half opened. Nightwing choked and grabbed Starfire's wrist to stop her. He took the bird from her. Starfire shuddered and collapsed on Changeling, releasing buildup anguish with a blood-curling scream. She was trapped in a nightmare and couldn't wake up. Nightwing placed a hand on her back, cradling the bird unconsciously against his chest.

"Are we dying?" Sloth asked suddenly as a huge chunk of ground in front of her fell and disappeared in the abysm.

"Yeah and It's all because of you!" Rude snarled at Timid. "You are killing us!"

"So what?!" Timid wailed. "So what?!"

"You sickening waste!"

Rude lunged at Timid and punched her rabidly. Nightwing cursed under his breath and tried to intervene. His legs failed him and he fell to his knees. Timid's terrified screams of pain and fear changed and turned into plaintive screeches. The flailing arms turned to flapping wings. Rude's robe grew dark, her face changed, her mouth and nose twisting into a beak. Sloth moaned in pain as she lost her humanity to the nature of the demonic bird-shadows and changed.

Rage and Brave fought rabidly in the air, their screams turning to mindless squawks and screeches. Their bodies grew black feathers. Their flailing legs grew long and scaly. They were two ravens struggling to tear each other apart.

Wisdom fell to her knees, feeling week. She looked down at her hands and saw feathers. She looked at her body and found her robe was gone. All of her was gone. She sighed and closed her blazing eyes in defeat.

The light disappeared and the earth crumbled.

Nightwing screamed as the stone gave way under them. His first reaction was to grab Changeling and Starfire. He had to save them. His body was jerked to a painful stop. A green soft light blazed in the darkness. It illuminated the tear-striking face of Starfire. She raised her hand.

In the flickering green light, they saw two ravens fighting rabidly not far away. Three others stood in the empty air, their heads bowed in apparent grief, a fourth bird lying motionless between them. There was a fourth screaming soundlessly. One stood near. She met their gaze.

Starfire opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. She flew towards the staring bird when a blinding light ripped the darkness. Deafening screams penetrated the engulfing silence. The sizzling light cutting the dark sky from horizon to horizon grew. The shrill sound was impossible to bear. And then, they could hear a familiar voice:

_"Retreat. Titans. Retreat."_

Starfire hesitated, unsure if she should be more afraid of the consuming darkness or the blinding light with its strange calls. Nightwing screamed but the meaning of his words were lost. Starfire looked back at the staring raven. It was gone. Nightwing squeezed her hand tightly. She dashed towards the portal, a single tear gliding down her golden cheek.

Cyborg approached Raven and stretched her on the floor. He straightened her head and placed Warp's device over her chakra. His hands never wavered as he tied the device in place. He switched it on. The machine buzzed to life and Raven wailed in agony as energy was ripped from her body and sucked into the device.

A twister of chaotic lights and shadows whirled out of the crystal. Cyborg could see through it the world inside Raven's mind. He watched impassibly as it collapsed upon itself. He scanned the darkness in seek of the targets.

"_Retreat_. _Titans. Retreat."_

He called out. Something dashed out of the glowing vortex and slammed head-first into a wall. Cyborg turned and saw Starfire, Changeling and Nightwing sprawled on top of each other. The mission accomplished, he turned off Warp's device and removed it from Raven's forehead. She heaved one last plaintive moan and closed her eyes.

Nightwing shook his head to clear it. He crawled from under Changeling and stared at Raven's limp body. Starfire dashed towards her to check for a pulse. He looked at Cyborg and frowned at the empty expression on his face.

"You got us out? What did you do?"

"_I've altered the mechanisms of the time-transporter."_ He answered blankly. _"It opened a retreat passageway for all missing Titans."_

"Did it hurt her?"

"_Insufficient data. Tests are required." _

"Right. Help me with Changeling. He's hurt."

"_Request denied."_

Cyborg walked out of the room without glancing back. Nightwing struggled to his feet.

"Where are you going?"

"_Power-cell must be recharged."_

Nightwing sighed and turned back to Changeling. Raven had healed most of the exterior damage but his green skin looked pale and unhealthy. He hoped there was no internal damage or critical blood-loss. He removed a communicator from his belt and called for an ambulance. They would not be able to reach the base in their condition. He removed his cape and covered Changeling with it.

Starfire held Raven's limp hand. There were no injuries but it seemed life was slipping from her frail body. Robin knelt clumsily next to her. She looked at him, her lower lip quivering. He smiled sadly.

"Everything will work out, Starfire."

"How can you know that?"

"Because it has to."

It made sense. There was just no way things could get worse. She picked Raven and helped Nightwing carry Changeling out of Titan's Tower.


End file.
